Research Projects

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 descending First name Research Interests Desired start dates: Project areas
Pleiss Geoffrey Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Computational methods in statistics; Spatial statistics; Numerical analysis; Machine Learning; neural networks; Gaussian processes; Bayesian optimization; reliable deep learning 2023, 2024, 2025

See my website for research interests: https://geoffpleiss.com

Price Morgan Health Information Systems; Design; family medicine; eHealth Adoption; eHealth Requirements Engineering; eHealth Ux/UI Design; software engineering; decision support systems; Treatment Adherence; Consumer eHealth; Health System Improvement; primary care; Team-based care Any time / year round

Our lab is based in Victoria and connected to both the Island Medical Program and UVic Computer Science. We have a range of projects including: eHealth related projects connected to community based Electronic Medical record design and assessment of adoption; action research projects with partners related to health system improvement using EMRs in practice; consumer mHealth projects related to... Read More

Puterman Eli Kinesiology; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Acute exercise; cellular aging; chronic stress; Exercise interventions; Health Psychology; Physical Activity; Physical literacy; Stress physiology; telomeres Any time / year round

Our Fitness, Aging and Stress Lab at UBC is currently actively engaged in several different laboratory and community studies. In the laboratory, we are examining the impact of different lengths and intensities of exercise on biological and psychological responses to acute stressors. We are also examining the flip side of this - how chronic and acute stress impact biological and psychological... Read More

Quon Bradley Cystic Fibrosis; Epidemiology; Respiratory System; Proteomics; Immune Mediators: Cytokines and Chemokines; biomarker discovery and development; clinical epidemiology; health care economics; medication adherence Any time / year round

Cystic Fibrosis blood biomarker research and development - proteomics and transcriptomics Health outcomes research using the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Registry - clinical epidemiology

Ranger Manon Neurodevelopment; Clinical nursing, secondary (acute care); neurodevelopment; Early-adversity; Biomarkers of early stress exposure; Brain development; pain; Prematurity 2021, 2022

I am conducting novel translational research to advance the health and care of children and their families. Specifically, my long-term goal is to improve the care of infants born preterm (< 37 weeks gestation). To accomplish this, I am leading a research program to address the impact of early stress, such as pain, inflammation, clinical treatments and maternal separation, on the developing... Read More

Rauscher Alexander Physical sciences; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; magnetic resonance imaging; physics; quantitative susceptibility mapping; myelin water imaging; brain; maschine learning 2024

modelling of the MRI signal, quantitative susceptibility mapping, myelin water imaging, MRI physics, deep learning

 

Rea Christopher Chinese literatures; Asian history; Chinese literature; Cinema; Print culture; translation; Humor Any time / year round

Modern Chinese literature, cinema, cultural history, print culture, translation

Reichstein Zinovy Group theory and generalisations; Algebra; Algebraic groups; algebraic geometry 2024

Pure mathematics.

Renwick Kerry Curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; Specialized studies in education; Critical Pedagogy; Educational Policy; Familial Contexts; Health Education; Home Economics; Human and Social Ecology; Public health; teacher education 2024

Health Literacy; Food Literacy; Teacher Education: Curriculum Development; Educational Policy

Reynolds Graham Intellectual property law; Copyright law; property law; Intellectual property and human rights; Intellectual property and climate change; Intellectual property and social justice; Technology and access to justice 2025

Intellectual property and human rights

Rhemtulla Jeanine Forestry sciences; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Ecological Trends; Landscape and Restoration; Environment Management and Protection; Biodiversity and Biocomplexity; Conservation & Poverty Alleviation; Ecosystem services; Landscape ecology & spatial analysis; Reforestation; socio-ecological systems; Temperate & tropical forest & agroforestry systems

Forest restoration in tropical systems

Richman Joy Marion Dentistry and oral health; Cell signaling; chicken embryo limb development; Congenital Anomalies; craniofacial development; Developmental biology; Embryonic Development; Evo-Devo; Growth Factors; orofacial clefting; reptilian tooth development

The role of non-canonical WNT signaling in facial and limb development in the chicken embryo
Rare diseases - validation of disease-causing human variants in animal models
The molecular basis of the ever-renewing reptilian dentition using the gecko model

Rieseberg Loren Bioinformatics; Genomics; Plant biology; adaptation; crops; invasive plants; plant evolutionary biology; speciation; weeds Any time / year round

Adaptation, Speciation, Evolution of Crops and Weeds, Bioinformatics

Robinson Wendy Other basic medicine and life sciences; Medical Genetics; Human Development; Placenta; Epigenetics; DNA methylation; Sex differences; Mosaicism; Fetal Growth 2023

Sex differences at the genetic/epigenetic level in early development. Epigenetic tools for improved diagnosis in the prenatal and neonatal periods. DNA methylation analysis of the placenta in response to stress and other exposures

 

Rodrigues Brian Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (except clinical aspects); Diabetes; Cardiomyopathy; Heart Failure; Energy Metabolism; Cardiovascular metabolism; Endothelial cell - cardiomyocyte crosstalk; Vascular Endothelial Growth factors Any time / year round

The objective of our study is to examine the biology of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) during diabetes. To do this, we will use models of diabetes and various cellular approaches. Given the disturbing news that diabetes is rampant across the globe, and that its incidence will double in Canada by 2016, results from these studies will help in gaining more insight into the mechanism(s) by which cardiac... Read More

Ross Colin Genetic medicine; Genomics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (except clinical aspects); Biomedical Technologies; Drug Metabolism; Gene Therapy; Gene-based therapeutics; Pharmacogenomics; Precision Medicine; Transgenic Model Any time / year round

see http://colinrosslab.com/who-we-are/colin-ross/

Sadarangani Manish Immunology; Microbiology; Bacteria; Bacterial Vaccines; Childhood infections; Epidemiology; Immune System; Vaccine Development; Vaccine immunity; Clinical trials and observational studies Any time / year round

My research covers several independent, but related, areas of infectious diseases and vaccine research, including:

  • Understanding vaccine-induced immunity, particular for bacterial vaccines including vaccines against Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bordetella pertussis.
  • Development of novel vaccines for pathogens of major public health... Read More
Sadatsafavi Mohsen Respiratory diseases; Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Epidemiology; Biostatistics; Respiratory Research Any time / year round

My lab (Respiratory Evaluation Sciences Program - https://resp.core.ubc.ca/) is looking for a brilliant graduate student (MSc or PhD) for exciting projects in predictive analytics and decision modeling.

The project is part of the $2M The Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded IMPACT study (... Read More

Schabas Margaret History and philosophy of economics; Economics and business administration; History and Philosophy of Economics; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; science studies; History fo Early Modern Philosophy Any time / year round

History and Philosophy of Economics; Philosophy of Nature; Environmental Philosophy; Early Modern Philosophy; British Nineteenth-Century Philosophy; Science and Technology Studies

Schaeffer David Clinical oncology; Pathology (except oral pathology); Bioinformatics; cancer genetics; Cancer biology; Genomic rearrangements; genomics; Pancreas; Pathology; patient derived models Any time / year round

We conduct translational cancer research and have various ongoing projects focusing on Pancreatic Cancer. We are looking for students interested in a bioinformatics and bench top project studying genomic alterations and rearrangements and students interested in the development and use of patient deterived organoid models for translational research including drug screening, metabolism, and... Read More

Schmidt Julia Occupational therapy; Trauma / Injuries; cognition; Neurological diseases; Cognitive impairment; neuroscience; rehabilitation; Self-awareness; Self-identity; Traumatic Brain Injury

Dr. Schmidt's research investigates the alteration in a person’s life and brain after traumatic brain injury. Specifically, she is interested in self-awareness and self-identity changes after injury and neurological underpinnings of injury and recovery. Additionally, she aims to determine effective rehabilitation strategies and mechanisms of recovery for people with brain impairment.

Schoof Christian Geophysics; Ice and Snow; Transformation and Evolution of the Earth Surface; Fluid mechanics; Hydraulic; Asymptotic and Classical Applied Analysis; Differential Equation; applied mathematics; glacier hydrology; Glaciology; ice sheet dynamics Any time / year round

Glacier surging, glacier and ice sheet hydrology, modelling ice sheet dynamics

Schummers Laura Pediatrics and reproductive medicine; Health Services; Health Policy; women’s reproductive and perinatal health 2024, 2025

Contraception policy: impacts on contraception use, pregnancy rates, pregnancy outcomes 

Conception cohorts: overcome methodological limitations in administrative population data to maximize pregnancy capture (including those ending before 20 gestational weeks)

 

Scott Douglas Astronomical and space sciences; Physical sciences; Cosmology; Science and Knowledge Any time / year round

A wide range of topics within observational and theoretical cosmology

Semenoff Gordon Walter Particle physics theory (including aspects of field theory and string theory); Physical sciences; Moedal experiment, Large Hadron Collider, CERN; String theory, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics; Theoretical and mathematical physics, the physics of elementary particles, condensed matter physics Any time / year round

String theory, quantum field theory

Shadgan Babak Medical biotechnology diagnostics (including biosensors); Biomedical instrumentation (including diagnostics); Orthopedics; Sports medicine; Bone, skin and cartilage science; Central nervous system; Implantable Biosensing; sensor and system design, clinical application development; Wearable Biosensors; design and application development in health care and exercise sciences; Musculoskeletal, Sports & Exercise Medicine; Bone Fracture Healing; Spinal Cord Injuries 2022

Implantable biosensors for monitoring organ health and function,

Spinal cord hemodynamics monitoring,

Bone healing research,

 

 

Shan Hongxia Other education, n.e.c.; Immigration and adult education and learning; Lifelong learning; Gender and work; Prof. learning

Migration and adult education and learning; Lifelong learning in Asia; Work and learning; 

Sheel William Animal physiology, exercise; Kinesiology; airways, exercise, hypoxia, pulmonary physiology, respiratory muscle 2023

Sex differences in airway anatomy and fatigue of the diaphragm.

Effects of healthy ageing on the biology of exercise.

Respiratory influences on neurovascular control.

Other research projects that are of interest to trainees can often be developed in consultation with Dr. Sheel

Silberman Lior Mathematics and statistics; Mathematics; Analysis on manifolds; Automorphic forms; Group Theory; Homogenous dynamics; Metric geometry; Number theory; Representation Theory; Topology

Mathematics, almost any field

Sin Nancy Psychology and cognitive sciences; social determinants of health; stress; Social Aspects of Aging; Health Promotion; Lifestyle Determinants and Health; Adult development and aging; cardiovascular disease; depression; Emotions; Health behaviours; Stress processes; Well-being

Stress processes and stress-buffering in daily life; Role of daily positive experiences in adult development and aging; Biological and behavioural pathways linking daily experiences to health outcomes; Day-to-day dynamics of psychosocial well-being and health behaviours (e.g., sleep); Biopsychosocial determinants of risk and outcomes for cardiovascular disease

Sinnamon Luanne Silvia Archival, repository and related studies; Library science and information studies; human information interaction; Information Systems; information retrieval; New Technology and Social Impacts 2023

Design and use of Internet search engines; online information interaction and information design

Sly Laura Innate immunity; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammation; macrophages; Cell signalling Any time / year round

Immunometabolism and gut health

Speller Camilla Anthropology; Archeological Data Analysis; Molecular Genetics; Ancient DNA Analysis (paleogenetics); Ancient proteins (paleoproteomics); Animal Domestication; Bioarchaeology; Environmental Archaeology; Marine Ecosystems Any time / year round
  • Genetic diversity of past Pacific Herring populations
  • Genetic diversity and stock identification of ancient Pacific Salmon
  • Changes in marine biogeography relating to past climate change
Spering Miriam Biological sciences; vision; movement; perception and action; eye movements; hand movements; eye-hand coordination; sport vision; Parkinson's disease 2024
  • Development of eye-movement based diagnostic tools for neurological disease
  • Visual function and expertise in sport
  • Perception and action, eye-hand coordination
  • Serial dependencies in vision and movement
Stecklov Guy Family and household demographic studies; Fertility; Migration; Mortality; Demography; Studies of Canadian society; Demographic behavior; Historical social change; Demographic Change in Sub-Saharan Africa; Migration and assimilation; Population and Development; Research and survey methodology 2023

My newest research is funded by a five-year SSHRC grant and explores the role of World War 1 in Canada's demographic development in the first half of the 20th Century. It aims to return war and military service to the forefront of research after decades of neglect. This particular research focuses on understanding how war and serving in the military impacted population processes in Canada in... Read More

Stefanska Barbara Nutrition and Cancer; Breast Cancer; Hepatic Diseases; Gene Regulation and Expression; Epigenetics, Cancer epigenetics, Nutritional epigenomics Any time / year round

Epigenetics refers to the molecular events controlling gene expression that are independent of changes in the underlying DNA sequence. These events include DNA methylation, covalent histone modifications, and non-coding RNA-related mechanisms. Epigenetic modifications of DNA, namely DNA methylation, have been shown to contribute to the etiology of chronic diseases with cancer at the forefront... Read More

Stull Roland Meteorology and weather; weather; Meteorology; atmospheric science; numerical weather prediction; clean energy meteorology; storms; transportation weather; forest fire weather; weather disasters; atmospheric boundary layers; aviation meteorology Any time / year round

Weather forecasting for clean energy (wind, hydro, solar).

Weather forecasting for transportation (shipping, highways, railroads)

Weather forecasting for forest fires (fire-atmosphere interaction, smoke dispersion)

Forecasting for other weather-related disasters (landslides, debris flows, floods, avalanches, windstorms, air pollution, etc.)

Special projects (e.g.,... Read More

Sunderland Terence Earth and related environmental sciences; Social and economic geography; biodiversity; Communications; Communities and Livelihoods; conservation; Conservation Biology; Ecosystem services; Environmental communication; Forest policy; Land-use Change; Landscape ecology; Natural Resource Management; social science; sustainability; Tropical Landscapes and Livelihoods; Developing countries; Forest management 2021, 2022

Forests and food security; sustainable landscape management; biodiversity; rural livelihoods and markets; ecosystem services; non-timber forest products

Suttle Curtis Bioinformatics; Fisheries sciences; Immunology; Microbiology; Oceanography; Plant biology; Biological Oceanography; Environmental Virology; Marine Environment; Marine Microbiology; Microbial Diversity; Phage; Viral Discovery; Viruses Any time / year round

post-doctoral scholars will normally need fellowship support

Taubert Stefan Genetic medicine; Health counselling; Aging; beta cells; C. elegans; Diabetes; Gene Regulation and Expression; Gene regulation; Genetics of Aging; genomics; Hypoxia; Metabolism; Molecular Genetics; Mouse; stress; Stress and Cancer; Stress responses; Toxin and Toxicant Metabolism; Transcription Any time / year round

We study how cells, tissues, and organisms adapt to stresses such as hypoxia, oxidative stress, starvation, heavy metal exposure, and others. We investigate these stresses and stress responses because they contribute to or even cause human pathologies, including cancers, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. In this context, we are especially interested in gene regulation by the Mediator... Read More

Tessier Anne-Michelle Linguistics; Constraint-based grammars; L2 production and perception in childhood; Language Acquisition; Lexical avoidance; Phonology; Prosodic processing with cochlear implants; Shitgibbons; U-shaped development Any time / year round

Constraint-based approaches to phonological development

Phonological learnability

L1 morpho-phonological learning

Todesco Marco Plant biology; Quantitative genetics (including disease and trait mapping genetics); Biological adaptation; Developmental genetics (including sex determination); Genomics; Population, ecological and evolutionary genetics; Paleogenomics; Genetics engineering; Plant-animal interactions; Genetic and molecular basis of adaptation; Plant genomics; Chromosomal structural variation; Crop improvement and bioengineering; Wild sunflowers ecology and evolution; Cannabis diversity and domestication Any time / year round

Genetic basis of adaptation in wild sunflower species

Characterization of adaptation genes/haploblocks

Cannabis genetics and genomics

Use of wild relatives for crop improvement

Development of genomics techniques

 

 

Traboulsee Tony Neurology; Central nervous system; Biomedical signal processing; Machine learning; Imaging; magnetic resonance imaging; multiple sclerosis; neuromyelitls optica (NMO) 2023

Image analysis related:

- Brain and spinal cord MRI image analysis of conventional and advanced MRI sequences related to multiple sclerosis

- Involvement in multicentre repository of advanced MRI data for machine learning and other applications

Clinical sciences in multiple sclerosis and rare diseases (NMOSD, MOGAD)

- clinical and MRI studies on progression and... Read More

Tseng Michelle Population ecology; Community ecology (except invasive species ecology); Evolutionary impacts of climate change; Biological adaptation; Ecological impacts of climate change; Insect & plankton ecology; Community and evolutionary ecology; Community responses to warming; Urban biodiversity 2024

I may have space for 1 PhD student starting fall 2024. Students interested in working on insect biodiversity or on insect/plankton responses to warming temperatures are encouraged to email me. 

Turvey Stuart Immunology; Microbiology; Asthma; Immune System; Immunodeficiencies; Microbiome cohort studies; Precision Medicine; Primary Immune Deficiencies Any time / year round

Genetics of Susceptibility to Childhood Infection Until very recently, clinical immunologists have focused most attention on patients with a ‘noisy clinical phenotype’—multiple, severe and recurrent infections. Indeed, the origin of primary immunodeficiencies is generally attributed to Bruton’s 1952 description of X-linked agammaglobulinemia in a boy whose repeated pneumococcal infections... Read More

Upham David Chester Chemical engineering; Energy Transformation and Energy Using; catalysis; Energy; Greenhouse gas mitigation Any time / year round

CO2-free conversion of greenhouse gases into chemicals, fuels, and products

 

I am looking for one postdoc to start on an industrially funded project approximetaly January 1 2021. 

 

I am also considering a highly qualified PhD student to work on liquid heterogeneous catalysis.

 

Please include the position you are applying to in your application.

Van de Panne Michiel Computer Science and Statistics; Computer Sciences and Mathematical Tools; Robotics and Automation; simulation of human movement; computer animation; Robotics; deep reinforcement learning; motor control; computer graphics Any time / year round

simulation of agile human motion, robotics, motion planning, sensorimotor control, dexterous manipulation, computer animation, machine learning, computer graphics, novel interfaces

Van Petegem Filip Biochemistry; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Genetic Diseases; Calcium signaling; Cardiac arrhythmia; electrical signaling; electrophysiology; Epilepsy; Ion channels; Structural Biology Any time / year round

1) Muscle excitation-contraction coupling: How does an electrical signal in a muscle cell get transmitted into contraction? We investigate the membrane proteins involved in this process (L-type calcium channels, Ryanodine Receptors), as well as the various proteins that modulate these channels. Projects include solving crystal and cryo-EM structures of these channels in complex with the... Read More

Van Raamsdonk Catherine Genetic medicine; Health counselling; cancer genetics; Developmental Genetics; Human Cancer Genetics; Melanocytes; Melanoma; Molecular Genetics; Mouse Genetics and Transgenesis; Oncogenesis; Pigmentation

Cancer cell metastasis. Neural crest cell development. Molecular analysis of melanocytes and melanoma cells from mouse models: transcriptomics, bioinformatics, proteomics. Primary cell culture, FACS, Immunohistochemistry/Immunofluorescence. Therapeutics and signaling pathways in melanoma.

Vedam Saraswathi Gestation / Parturition; Human Rights and Liberties, Collective Rights; Right and Access to Information; Home Care Services; Law and Health; Social Contract and Social Justice; Community Health / Public Health; Breast Feeding and Infant Nutrition; Family and Child Services; Home Birth; Place of Birth; Provider Attitudes; Respectful Maternity Care; Midwifery; Interprofessional relationships; Person-Centered Care; Patient Autonomy; Institutional Racism in Maternity Care; Maternal and Newborn Outcomes; Maternity care for diverse populations; Transdisciplinary engagement in health care; Mistreatment Any time / year round

Active analysis and knowledge translation projects: qualitative and quantitative data generated by participatory maternity care research: Changing Childbirth in BC, Giving Voice to Mothers - US (participatory research on experiences of maternity care and disparities), Access and Integration Maternity Care Mapping study (links between regulatory frameworks and disparities), Giving Voice to... Read More

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