Research Projects

Canadian Immigration Updates

Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more

Faculty Members Recruiting Students

This list shows a selection of faculty members who are currently looking for new graduate students. They may have specified particular projects they wish to fill. Please ensure to review the departmental profile of each faculty member to learn more about their research interests and to ensure a good fit to your intended studies at UBC.

Last namesort ascending First name Research Interests Desired start dates: Project areas
Gaertner David Indigenous literatures; Media, visual and digital culture; Critical identity, ethnic and race studies; Indigenous Literature; Digital storytelling; Digital Humanities; Speculative fiction; Reconciliation; New Media; Indigenous Cyberspace

Indigenous new media theory and design via CEDaR (Centre for Engaged Documentation and Research) the Indigneous new media lab I co-operate with Daisy Rosenblum. 

Frostad John Chemical engineering; Food sciences (including food engineering); Emulsions; Physics of Soft Matter; Agricultural Sprays; Food Physics; Interfacial Rheology; Novel Instrumentation; Foams; Fluid mechanics Any time / year round

For more information, please see: http://food.chbe.ubc.ca/opportunities/

Friedman Jan Marshall Other clinical medicine; Genetic medicine; Genomics; Health counselling; Application of whole genome sequencing to diagnose genetic disease; Birth defects epidemiology; Clinical genomics; Developmental Genetics; Genetics and Heredity; Neurofibromatosis Any time / year round
  • Improving the sensitivity of whole genome sequencing as a clinical test for genetic causes of intellectual disability
  • Use of advanced genomic and bioinformatic methods to find mutations that cause genetic disease but that are missed by standard genome sequencing
  • Clinical genetics/genomics health services research 
Friedman Joel Computer and information sciences; Algebraic Graph Theory; Combinatorics; Computer Science Theory Any time / year round

Computer Science Theory, Graph Theory, Combinatorics, Algebraic Topology applied to Combinatorics

Frankel Adam Other basic medicine and life sciences; Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Protein Biochemistry; arginine methylation; Histones; Nucleosomes; post-translational modifications; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Organic Molecules and Biomolecules; Bioactive Molecules; Proteins; Chemical Biology; drug discovery; Target Engagement; yeast; Amino acids 2024

"Methylation Dynamics in Cellular Processes" in the Frankel lab. 

"Overcoming Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitor Resistance Using Pyrimethamine-inspired Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras" with Drs. Brent Page and Karla Williams.

Frank Erica Health sciences; Public and population health; Other education; Free education; Preventive Medicine; Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Holocaust studies; Exile Reintegration; Democratization; Intervention Research Any time / year round

My primary research is on my invention, NextGenU.org, uniquely providing free education from first grade to PhD.  Starting with a focus in the health sciences, NextGenU.org's accredited courses are being used every country, including through half of US medical schools.

Founded/invented by me in 2001 (predating MOOCs by 7 years), we globally launched our first full course in March 2012.... Read More

Ford Nancy Medical physics; Medical biotechnology diagnostics (including biosensors); Dental materials and equipment; micro-computed tomography; physiological gating; contrast agents; models of respiratory disease; image-based measurements; dental imaging; x-ray imaging 2025

Effects of e-cigarettes on respiratory and oral health

Contrast-enhanced micro-CT using novel targeted contrast agents

Dual-energy cone-beam CT

Dental radiography

Forbes Connor Urology; Other basic medicine and life sciences; Drug discovery, design and delivery; Endourology; Minimally Invasive Surgery; Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia; Kidney stones; Translational research 2024

Dr Connor Forbes graduated from UBC Medicine and completed his residency in Urology at UBC. His fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre was a combined research and clinical fellowship including subspecialty training in Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH), Kidney Stones, and advanced minimally invasive surgical approaches to upper and lower tract urologic diseases. 

Dr Forbes'... Read More

Folk Joshua Physical sciences; 2D materials and Vanderwaals heterostructures; Quantum electronics; Thermodynamics of quantum systems; Strongly correlated phenomena; Topological phenomena; Quantum transport Any time / year round

Vanderwaals heterostructures; Entropy of quantum systems; Thermodynamic probes of 2D materials; Fractional quantum Hall effect

Flynn Alexandra Law and society; Municipal Law; Local Governance; property law; Administrative Law; Experiential legal education; Socio-Legal Studies; Law & Cities 2022
  • urban law and governance
  • housing law
Fisher Kevin Prehistoric archaeology; Anthropology; Archaeological theory; Archaeometry; Archeological Data Analysis; Archeological Excavation Methods and Techniques; architecture; built environments; digital archaeology; Dynamics of Social Transformations; Mediterranean archaeology; Near Eastern archaeology; power; Social Life / Societal Life; social interaction; Urban Spaces and Urbanity; urbanism Any time / year round

Kalavasos and Maroni Built Environments (KAMBE) Project: http://kambe.cnrs.ubc.ca/

Computational Research on the Ancient Near East (CRANE) Project: https://www.crane.utoronto.ca/

Faulkner Guy Kinesiology; Community Health / Public Health; behavioral medicine; Exercise Psychology; mental health; physical activity and public health; physical activity interventions Any time / year round

Physical activity and public health - intervention development and evaluation

Fast Danya Social sciences; Substance Use; Substance Use Care; Adolescents and Young Adults; urban health; Urban Poverty; Medical Anthropology; Canada; East Africa Any time / year round

I am currently recruiting incoming PhD students with strong backgrounds in qualitative, community-based participatory action, and/or anthropological methods who are passionate about doing research broadly focused on youth, substance use and care. Students will carve out an independent project as part of one of the following studies:

(1) The Treatment Trajectories Study explores young... Read More

Everhart Avery Health geography; Population geography; Geographic information system (GIS and GPS) applications; Health and community services; Bioinformatics, n.e.c.; Social and cultural geography; Sex and gender-based analysis; Ethical, legal, and social issues in health, health systems and health research; Gender and health relationship; Health information systems (including surveillance); Geographic Information Science; Medical Geography; Demography & Population Studies; Critical Data Studies, Critical GIS & Digital Geographies; Transgender Studies; Intersectionality in Empirical Social Science; Health Services Research & Access to Healthcare; Community-Based Participatory Research; Feminist & Queer Theories; Measuring & Combatting STructural Racism 2024, 2025

Geographic access to gender-affirming care (in multiple countries) through surveys, quantiative analysis and GIS

Applying intersectionality theories to empirical social scientific and health sciences research

Medical geography involving field work and community-based participatory or participatory action research

Etxabe Julen Law and society; Literature and critical theory; History and philosophy of law and justice; Law and humanities; Legal Theory and Jurisprudence; Human Rights; Political Theory; Law and literature; Cultural Studies Any time / year round
  • Law and Humanities
  • Law and Literature
  • Jurisprudence and Legal Theory
  • Critical Theory
  • Poilitical Theory
  • Cultural Studies and Legal History
  • International Human Rights
Etminan Mahyar Eye and Visual System Diseases; Pharmacoepidemiology; Epidemiology; Oular Epidemiology; Drug Safety; Epidemiologist Study Design; Causal Inference; Cancer Epidemiology

Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Drug Safety (all therapeutics areas)

Eltis Lindsay Biochemistry; Genomics; Immunology; Microbiology; Bacterial catabolism of steroids and lignin; biocatalyst development; Enzymes and Proteins; Metabolism (Living Organisms); Mycobacterium tuberculosis Any time / year round

Understanding the degradation of cholesterol catabolism by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its role in pathogenesis. Developing new therapeutics that target cholesterol catabolism. Understanding the bacterial degradation of lignin and developing biocatalysts to upgrade lignin.

Ellis Jason Canadian history; Specialized studies in education; Educational policy; Education policy; history of education Any time / year round

Projects related to my current research: history of education and social mobility, opportunity; education and housing markets; political economy of metropolitan schooling; policy; space and historical GIS mapping; history of immigration and education; history of educational finance and taxation. Or any project in the history of education; education policy.

Elliott Alison Other health sciences; rare disease; genomics; Congenital Malformations; Skeletal and limb anomalies; Genetic Counselling; Health services implementation science

Genetic counselling

Birth defects

Health Implementation Science

Effros Bonnie Humanities and the arts; History of archaeology; Antiquarianism and collecting in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; Late antique and early medieval history and archaeology; Gender history and archaeology Any time / year round

history of archaeology, history of collecting and museums, medievalism, early medieval history and archaeology, early medieval gender

Douglas Jennifer Personal recordkeeping and archives; Community archives; Person-centred archival theory and practices; Grief and recordkeeping and archives; Emotions and recordkeeping and archives; Archival arrangement and description Any time / year round

Personal and/or community archives and recordkeeping; grief and recordkeeping and archives; archival creation; archival representation. 

Donner Simon Atmospheric sciences; Oceanography; Other media and communication; Climate Science; climate change impacts; Climate policy; Coastal Ecosystems; Marine Environment; Climate modelling and prediction; Science communication; Net-zero emissions; Coral reefs Any time / year round, 2023, 2024, 2025

I am a climate scientist focused on helping the world prevent and prepare for climate change. I serve as a member Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which advises the Canadian government on climate change solutions, and was a lead author on the most recent assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments.

My research program lies primarily at the intersection... Read More

Dong Xuesen Cancer progression and metastasis; Gene and molecular therapy; Prostate Cancer; Drug development; RNA splicing and Gene Regulation; Hormone Dependent Cancers; Endocrine Regulation Any time / year round
  1. neuroendocrine prostate cancer;
  2. AR driven castrate-resistant prostate cancer
  3. computer aided drug design 
  4. cell free nucleotide biomarkers from liquid biopsy
Dollinger Stefan English language; Language Contact and Linguistic Changes; Linguistic Variation and Society; Lexicography and Dictionaries; Language Interactions; Language Rights and Policies; Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Projects revolving around the recently completed www.dchp.ca/dchp2, possibly towards a third edition.

For my work, see https://ubc.academia.edu/StefanDollinger for a nearly complete list and downloadable books/papers/squibs/reviews.

Diamond Adele executive functions; prefrontal cortex; dopamine; working memory; self-control; self-regulation; cognition; COMT gene; Sex differences; stress; ACEs (adverse childhood experiences); ELS (early life stress); resilience; social determinants of health; ADHD; depression; PTSD; Physical Activity; the arts; mindfulness

In traumatized youth, can prefrontal cortex communication with the amygdala be restored by a stress-reduction program (e.g., Niroga’s yoga-based mindfulness program)? Are the benefits of music for improving executive functions (EFs), mood, and quality of life greater when the experience of listening to the music is socially shared? Can the benefits of listening to the spoken word be as great... Read More

Dennis Jessica Bioinformatics; Genetic medicine; Administrative health data; Complex Trait Genetics; Electronic health records; Epidemiology; genetic epidemiology; Genetics of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases; Machine Learning; Mental Health and Psychopathology in Children and Youth; Precision Health; statistical genetics Any time / year round

The last decade has seen an unprecedented explosion of data. In medicine, data are increasingly being generated and linked across electronic health records, administrative databases, and biobanked samples. These resources hold tremendous promise for improving human health and achieving precision medicine, which will only be realized by thoughtful study designs and innovative analyses.

... Read More

Dee Derek Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Proteomics; Nanofabrication, growth and self-assembly; Food chemistry (including fermentation); Protein Folding; protein stability; protein aggregation; protein engineering; funtional amyloid; bacterial amyloid; protein nanofibrils; food proteins; legume proteins; aspartic proteases; psychrophilic enzymes; precision fermentation; Biophysics; food chemistry; alternative food proteins; optical tweezers; single molecule force spectroscopy; cryoEM Any time / year round

1. bacterial biofilm amyloid: assembly mechanism and drug targeting

2. functional and engineered amyloid from plant (legume) proteins

3. protein (enzyme) engineering to control stability

Dao Duc Khanh Genomics; Mathematical biology; Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Agricultural spatial analysis and modelling; combine mathematical,computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes; regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation; Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy; Database development and management; Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation 2023, 2024

Learning Spatial Representation from Brain recordings, in collaboration with Manu Madhav's lab at UBC

Daniels Megan Classical religion; Archaeology of Greece and the broader eastern Mediterranean; Late Bronze Age to Hellenistic Period; Ancient religion, sanctuaries, votive objects; Cross-cultural interaction; Ancient economies and trade; Divine kingship; Digital/data science approaches to the ancient world, particularly ancient religion; Migration and mobility across Eurasia; Phoenician culture; Ceramic analysis

Ancient Mediterranean, 3000-100 BCE; ancient Greek religion; ancient economies, trade, and exchange; migration and mobility in the ancient Mediterranean; cross-cultural interaction in antiquity; archaeological ceramics; diversity and inclusion in teaching ancient history and archaeology

Damascelli Andrea Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Electronic Structure of Quantum Materials Any time / year round
  • Quantum Materials by Design
  • Quantum Materials in the Time Domain
  • Designing Quantum Phases in Monolayer Graphene
  • Creating 2-Dimensional Superconducting Electron Gases
  • Probing Condensate's Coherence: from Superconductors to Excitonic Insulators
Daley Denise Bioinformatics; Asthma; Complex Trait Genetics; Epigenetics; gene-gene and gene-environment interactions; Genetic Diseases; genetic epidemiology; Genetics of Aging; statistical genetics; Susceptibility Genes Any time / year round

Genetics and epigenetics of common complex diseases including peanut allergy, food allergy, asthma, atopy, healthy aging, aortic valve stenosis. Longitudinal analyses of childhood birth cohorts. The lab is currently initiating several targeted whole genome bisulfate sequencing projects and we plan on integrating data from a variety of omics approaches. We are also developing genetic risk... Read More

d'Arcy Mitch Earth and related environmental sciences; Geomorphology; Climate/palaeoclimate; Sedimentology; Geochronology; remote sensing Any time / year round, 2021

Projects could involve field work, geochronology, geochemistry, modelling and remote sensing depending on what the student finds exciting and interesting. I’m particularly seeking students interested in working on these topics (but I’m open to other suggestions, too):

  • Orbital climate changes and their effects on erosion and sedimentation
  • Recovering palaeoclimate signals... Read More
Cui Wei Law and legal practice; Taxation; Law; Social Organization and Political Systems; Chinese administrative law; Chinese legislative system; law and development; Law and political economy; tax and development; tax policy Any time / year round

The history of international taxation in light of the evolution of international trade

Compare redistributive policies in democratic v. authoritarian countries

Environmental taxation 

Cretu Edmond Nano-technology; Electronics; Medical and biomedical engineering; microsystems and nanotechnology; sensor clusters and networks; Signal processing and control; Ultrasound Imaging; Microinstrumentation; Inertial measurement units; wearable systems Any time / year round

- Polymer-based transducer arrays for ultrasound imaging - applications in biomedical imaging, or for non-destructive testing of materials and structures

- Advanced microsystems for inertial navigation 

- Sensor microinstrumentation systems

- Signal processing and modern control applied to MEMS transducers

- Wearable body sensor systems

Cornelis Jean Thomas Earth and related environmental sciences; Pedology; Biogeochemistry; Soil-Plant Interactions 2022

- determine the extent to which changes in soil processes controlling carbon storage and (micro)nutrient supply are driven by land use

- understand soil abiotic controls on microbial and root nutrient-acquisition strategies and their role in agroecosystem resilience and food quality

- determine agroecosystem adaptation to climate change via bio-weathering processes induced by... Read More

Coops Nicholas Charles Forestry sciences; Telemetry (Remote Sensing, Radar); Space Techniques; Forestry Technology and Equipment; Plants and Forests Any time / year round

Application of remote sensing technologies to forest productivity and conservation issues

Cookson Tara Public policy; Development; Social protection; Care work; Gender equality Any time / year round

Gender and development; social protection; care economy

Conklin Annalijn Public health nutrition policy; Other basic medicine and life sciences; Social Determinants of Dietary and Metabolic Disorders; social nutritional epidemiology; Gender Epidemiology; women's health; Health Equity; Chronic Diseases in Elderly; Obesity; CVD risk factors; healthy ageing; food and nutrition policy; Indigenous health; Community Health / Public Health; disease management evaluation; healthcare quality improvement; Professional Practices; ethics of research and public health 2025

Gender differences in symptoms and outcomes of patients living with COPD;

Gender, social determinants and metabolic outcomes

Ciocca Valter Auditory System; Perception and Representation; Recognition of Speech; Speech and Language Development Disorders; Auditory grouping of speech and non-speech sounds, also known as "auditory scene analysis"; perception and production of normal and disordered speech Any time / year round

Auditory scene analysis; perception and production of disordered speech

Chrostowski Lukas Electrical engineering, computer engineering, and information engineering; Optics and Photonics; Micro and Nanoelectronics; Nanotechnologies; Manufacturing Processes; biophotonics; biosensors; optics; optoelectronics; photonics; quantum computing; semiconductor lasers; silicon photonics Any time / year round

silicon photonic device and circuit design, nanofabrication, quantum computing, single photon devices

Chiu-Duke Josephine Asian history; History of Major Eras, Great Civilisations or Geographical Corpuses; Chinese and Taiwanese history; liberal democracy; political thought and institutions Any time / year round

Traditional Chinese intellectual history or history of traditional Chinese thought and institutions.

Chen Frances Health psychology; social connection; social support; stress; coping; conflict and negotiation; hormones; Neuroendocrinology Any time / year round

I am currently recruiting graduate students and postdocs interested in:

  • understanding how hormonal changes during puberty affect teenagers’ social and emotional development
  • investigating how loneliness and social contact “get under the skin” to affect our physical health

  • developing interventions to promote social connection
Chen Jiahua Statistical theory and modeling; empirical likelihood; finite mixture model; sample survey; asymptotic theory; imputation 2025

I have research problems related to empirical likelihood, mixture models, and survey sampling. It is up to students to explore and take adventures.

Chen Jingyi Algebraic and differential geometry; Differential Geometry, Partial Differential Equations 2022

Geometric Analysis 

Chapman Mary Ann Arts and Cultural Traditions; Arts and Literary Policies; Arts and Technologies; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; Social Determinants of Arts and Letters; Artistic and Literary Marginality; Artistic and Cultural Heritage; Artist or Author Social Identity; Artistic and Literary Movements, Schools and Styles; Artistic and Literary Theories; Literary or Artistic Work Analysis; Literary or Artistic Work Dissemination or Reception Contexts; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Writing and Literary Experimentation; Poetry; Novel and Short Story; Essays; Gender Relationship; Audiences and Mass Media; Media and Democratization; Media and Society; Media Influence on Behavior; Civil and Social Responsibilities of Media; Stereotypes; Electoral System; Printing Art; Persuasion Strategies; Social Movements; Publics; Performance and Theatrical Productions; Social Networks; American Literature; Asian American Literature; Asian Canadian Literature; Suffrage; Public Pedagogy of the Arts; Public Humanities

Sui Sin Far (Edith Eaton); Onoto Watanna (Winnifred Eaton); US literature; American Literature; print culture; periodicals; suffrage literature, literature of social movements; 20th century American poetry; 19th-century American literature; race, class and gender; Asian American literature; public humanities; public pedagogy; alt-ac careers

 

Chan Kai Natural environment sciences; Human Ecology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; Applied Ethics; Values and Lifestyles; Sustainable Development; conservation finance; Conservation science; cultural ecosystem services; Ecosystem services; environmental assessment; environmental values; incentive programs; payments for ecosystem services; resilience; social-ecological systems; sustainability science

See http://chanslab.ires.ubc.ca/people/chan/

Cavell Richard Anthony English language; Media and Society; Media Influence on Behavior; Media Types (Radio, Television, Written Press, etc.); media studies; media theory Any time / year round

Media and literature
Multimodal fiction
Composed theatre
Soundscape poetics

Carvalho Rick Other health sciences, n.e.c.; Biomaterials; materials interfaces; bonding to hard tissues; materials development 2025

Development and testing of innovative materials for dental and other medical applications

Carlsten Christopher Environment and Respiratory Diseases Any time / year round

We have several projects running at any given time (see the lab website and publications for a sense of what we do).
Candidates are matched with an appropriate project based on interest and expertise.
Our general approach is to welcome outstanding candidates (the very best) at every level of training to contribute to our award-winning team.

Caragata Lea Social oppression and marginalization; Counselling, welfare and community services; Social policy; welfare systems; Poverty; labour markets; lone mothers; social policy; youth provisioning Any time / year round

Current SSHRC on youth provisioning in low income lone mother led families

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