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 descending First name Research Interests Desired start dates: Project areas
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 Other health sciences; Gene regulation and expression; Transcriptomics; Genomics; 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 2024

We study how cells, tissues, and organisms adapt to stresses (hypoxia, oxidative stress, starvation) and how their function is compromised during aging. We investigate these processes and cellular responses because they contribute to or even cause human pathologies, such as cancers, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. 

We are especially interested in gene regulation by the... Read More

Tessier Anne-Michelle Linguistic structures (including grammar, phonology, lexicon and semantics); 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

Todd Rebecca Cognitive sciences, n.e.c.; Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Neurosciences, medical and health and physiological aspects, n.e.c.; Human Cognition and Emotion; Neurophenomenology and participatory sensemaking; Dance as a laboratory for interactive cognition; cognition; Emotional learning; Human Neurocognitive processes underlying all of the above; Learning and Memory; Motivation, Emotions and Rewards 2025, 2026, 2027

Dance improvisation as a laboratory for understanding interactive cognition; Neurophenemonology of mental health/addiction; Active/inhibitory avoidance in major depression

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; magnetic resonance imaging; multiple sclerosis; Neuromyelitls optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD); Myelin Oligodendrocyte Antibody Disorder (MOGAD); Brain MRI; Spinal Cord MRI 2025

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)

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

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

Catalysts for CO2 conversion 

Methane pyrolysis

New ways to electrically heat thermochemical reactors with low-GHG electricity

Carbon fiber synthesis

High temperature hydrogen separation membranes

Ammonia as a hydrogen carrier

Technoeconomic analysis

 

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.

Vanderwal Tamara Functional Neuroimaging; child psychiatric disorders; depression in youth 2024, 2025
  • Movie + OCD = This project creates and tests a novel movie stimulus designed specifically to evoke symptoms of OCD while participants are undergoing fMRI scans. The goal is to identify a disorder-specific network that has clinical relevance at the individual-subject level.  Analytic approaches will include machine-based learning algorithmes (e.g., Connectome Predictive Modeling) and... Read More
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

Velenosi Thomas Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, n.e.c.; Cancer drug development and therapeutics; Cancer molecular targets; Metabolomics; Lipid biology (including lipidomics); Pharmacometabolomics; Pharmacology; Lipidomics; mass spectrometry; Cancer; Stable isotope tracing; Bioinformatics Any time / year round

Metabolites directly reflect genetic, physiological, and environmental changes and can provide a reliable readout for therapeutic effectiveness. Pharmacometabolomics refers to the study of measuring metabolite changes in response to drug therapy. In the assessment of cancer, metabolites excreted from tumors can be measured by routine non-invasive sampling of plasma and urine. Projects in the... Read More

Victoriano Ramon Antonio Caribbean literatures; Latin American literatures; Contemporary literatures; Hispanic Caribbean Literatures and Cultures; Latin American Contemporary Novel and Short Story; Caribbean Literatures Any time / year round

Blackness in the Hispanic Caribbean.

Cultural History of Hispanic Caribbean printed media. 

von Bergmann Hsingchi Medicine, nursing and health curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; Other medical sciences; Philosophy; assessment; PBL; Beliefs & Identity; Online Teaching and Learning; Professionalism; Wellbeing; decision making 2025

Online Teaching & Learning in Higher Education

Population oral health

Professional Identity and Professionalism

Admission/Selection

Wachs Anthony Fluidization and fluid mechanics; Process control and simulation in chemical engineering; Numerical computation; Fluid mechanics; Particle-laden flows; Non Newtonian flows; Heat and mass transfer; Numerical simulation; High performance computing; Multi-scale modelling Any time / year round
  • Development of massively parallel codes for granular and particle-laden flow simulation
  • Multi-scale modeling of particle-laden flows
  • Shape effect in granular and particle-laden flows
  • Heat and mass transfer in fluidized beds
  • Blood flow and application to targeted drug delivery
Wang Fei Educational administration, management and leadership; Educational policy; Specialized studies in education; Educational administration and leadership in K-12 setting; Leadership; the role of the school principals; social justice and diversity; comparative policy studies; Education and Training Management; Ideology and Social Policy; Social Contract and Social Justice; Offshore school and its leadership Any time / year round

My research lies in the areas of educational leadership and administration, social justice and diversity, “subversive” leadership, leadership in cross-cultural settings, and educational policy studies in K-12 settings. I explore how principals negotiate policies and practices that they consider socially unjust to students and how they “creatively” cope with conflicts between moral and ethical... Read More

Wang Ying Cardiology and circulatory sciences (including cardiovascular disease); Cell differentiation, proliferation and death; Drug discovery, design and delivery; atherosclerosis; Diabetic cardiomyopathy; Vascular biology; Spatial 'Omics'; Drug repurposing and therapeutic design; Disease modeling; Digital Pathology 2024, 2025

1. Finding therapeutic targets to remove diseased cells in the atherosclerotic lesions

2. Drug repurposing for atherosclerotic disease

3. Developing spatial and single-cell endotyping technologies for cardiovascular tissues 

Current opportunities: https://www.hli.ubc.ca/careers/

 

Wasserman Wyeth Medical, health and life sciences; Medical and biomedical engineering; Creation of computational methods for the analysis of genome sequences (bioinformatics); Study of cis-regulatory elements controlling gene transcription; Applied analyses of genome sequences (genomics); Indigenous genomics Any time / year round

Gene Regulation

Amongst the most important challenges of this era of life science research is understanding the regulation of gene expression, a process that allows an incredible diversity of cells to be produced from the same genome sequence. During development and across physiological conditions, a set of proteins, called Transcription Factors (TFs), interact with the... Read More

Wasteneys Geoff Plant biology; Cell signaling; Hormones and Growth Factors; Molecular Genetics; Cellulose Biosynthesis; Microtubule Dynamics and Organization; Plant Cell Walls in Cell Shape and Tissue Function; Plant Growth and Development; Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress; Trafficking of Membrane Receptors and Transporters Any time / year round
  1. Coordination of Microtubule Assembly Dynamics by the Microtubule Polymerase MOR1 and the ARK Catastrophe Factors
  2. The Function of the GPI-anchored Protein COBRA in Plant Cell Wall Construction and Modification
  3. Hormone Signalling and Microtubule Array Organization During Meristem Development
  4. The Function of Microtubule Dynamics in Plant Resilience to... Read More
Weber Alexander Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Central nervous system; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Quantitative MRI; Brain Disorders; resting state functional MRI; myelin water imaging; Arterial Spin Labelling; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Fractal based analysis; Concussion; Diagnostic Imaging; Epilepsy; Seizures; Traumatic Brain Injury; open science; Biomedical Engineering; Rett Syndrome Any time / year round

Neonatal Brain Imaging

Rett Syndrome

Fractal Analysis of fMRI Signals

Cerebrovascular Health

Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Oxygen (CMRO2) Mapping by Combining Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and Quantitative Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Imaging (qBOLD)

Concussions / Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

Using Advanced MRI Techniques FLAIR2 and QSM... Read More

Wei Juncheng Differential equations and integral equations in pure mathematics; Partial and ordinary differential equations; Mathematics; Geometric analysis; Mathematical biology; Nonlinear partial differential equations; reaction-diffusion systems; singular perturbations and concentration phenomena; singularity formations in fluids; Nonlinear Analysis Any time / year round

De Giorgi conjectures, fractional equations, blow-ups in nonlinear parabolic and elliptic equations

Weidberg Hilla Other basic medicine and life sciences; Cell Biology; Genetics; Biochemistry; molecular biology; Organelle biology; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial stress; Protein quality control; Metabolism; Neurodegenerative diseases Any time / year round

 

 

Weijs Steven Civil engineering; Water; Hydrological Cycle and Reservoirs; Drinking Water; Fresh Water; Information; Hydroelectricity; Ice and Snow; control of water systems; droughts; experimental hydrology; floods; Hydrological Prediction; Hydrology; information theory; mountain hydrology; sensors; uncertainty; water resources management Any time / year round

Projects regarding new measurement techniques for catchment hydrology
Projects working on uncertainty analysis / quantification for hydrological prediction
Projects on optimal monitoring network layout / optimal expermental design
Projects on applications of information theory in hydrology and water resources

West Christopher Systems physiology; Animal physiology, circulation; Integrative physiology; Spinal cord injury; Animal models 2023

Sympathetic control of the circulation (Basic NSERC-funded stream)

Interventions to promote beneficial spinal plasticity following spinal cord injury (Health stream)

Acute hemodynamic management of spinal cord injury

Wiesner Felix Engineering design; Fire Safety; Timber Construction; Timber Engineering; Wood Products 2025

Post-fire Damage of Mass Timber Structures

Williams Ben Topology; Algebra; Algebraic topology; Motivic homotopy theory; A1 homotopy theory

The A1- and classical homotopy theory of algebraic groups, and their applications to algebra.

Wilton Steven Electrical engineering, computer engineering, and information engineering; Integrated Circuits; Computer Architecture; Computer Hardware; Computer-Aided Design Algorithms; Field-Programmable Gate Arrays; High-Level Synthesis Any time / year round

Debug for FPGAs FPGA Architectures CAD for FPGAs

Wisnovsky Simon Cancer genetics; Tumour immunology; Cellular immunology; Glycomics and glycobiology; Chemical genetics; Systems biology; Cellular interactions (including adhesion, matrix and cell wall); Genomics; Cancer molecular targets; glycobiology; carbohydrates; Tumor immunology; Functional genomics; CRISPR screening; Glycomics; Biochemistry; Molecular Genetics; Cell Biology; Cancer Any time / year round, 2021, 2022

Dr. Wisnovsky's lab studies the cell surface glycome, a dense network of sugar molecules that coats the surface of every living cell. The glycome plays a fundamental role in regulating the activity of our immune system, helping immune cells to distinguish normal, healthy cells from abnormal cells and invading pathogens. In diseases like cancer, the structure of the cell-surface glycome becomes... Read More

Wu Lyndia Biomechanical engineering; Biomedical instrumentation (including diagnostics); Biomedical signal processing; Mechanical characterization (including modeling, testing, and monitoring); Injury biomechanics; Soft Tissue Biomechanics; Traumatic Brain Injury; Sleep Biomechanics; Sensors and Instrumentation; Data Mining and Machine Learning; Wearable Sensing Any time / year round, 2021

Please refer to simpl.mech.ubc.ca for project areas and opportunities.

Wylie Alison Philosophy; feminist philosophy; philosophy of archaeology; philosophy of science; philosophy of the social and historial sciences; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; research ethics (non-medical); science studies Any time / year round

Feminist standpoint theory; community based collaborative practice; Indigenous/science; content effects of systemic inequities in the sciences.

Yada Rickey Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Other biological sciences; Food science; Food protein chemistry; Structure-function relationships; Enzymes; aspartic proteases Any time / year round

Current research interests include: the structure-function relationships of food and non-food related enzymes using molecular biology and various physico-chemical techniques (eg. circular dichroism spectroscopy, micro-calorimeter, small angle neutron scattering, ultracentrifugation, enzyme kinetics, etc.), carbohydrate metabolism in potatoes as it related to process quality as well as various... Read More

Yadav Vikramaditya Chemical engineering; Genomics; Medical and biomedical engineering; Bioactive Molecules; Biocatalysis; Bioinformatics; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Biomass (Energy); Biomaterials; Bioprocess engineering; Bioremediation; Biotechnology; drug delivery; Drug discovery & development; Medical biotechnology; Metabolic engineering; Structural Tissue Engineering / Biomaterials; Synthetic biology; Technoeconomics; Tissue Engineering; Vaccines Any time / year round

My research group utilizes metabolic & enzyme engineering to investigate and customize novel biosynthetic enzymes that can convert biomass-derived feedstocks into value-added chemicals. We have published highly acclaimed papers on model-guided enzyme engineering, process development, enzyme discovery using metagenomics and engineering metabolic control schemes that bridge with bioprocess... Read More

Yip Calvin Biochemistry; Gene Regulation and Expression; Genetic Diseases; Enzymes and Proteins; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Molecular Structure and Sizing; Imaging; Chromatin modification / epigenetic regulation; Molecular etiologies of rare diseases; Regulation of autophagy degradation
  1. Characterizing protein complexes involved in chromatin modification and epigenetic regulation
  2. Dissecting the regulatory mechanisms of autophagy degradation
  3. Investigating the molecular bases of rare diseases
Yoon Dongwook Computer and information sciences; Computer Science and Statistics; design; Educational Technologies; Augmented reality; computer supported cooperative work (CSCW); Educational technology; Human-computer interaction (HCI); Interaction and interface design; Multimodal interaction; Speech, touch, multitouch, stylus, gesture, mixed-reality, 3d interaction; Virtual Reality Any time / year round

My research lies at the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), computer-mediated communication (CMC), and educational technology. My primary research focus is to build rich collaboration systems that offer expressive multimodal interactions, i.e., interactions through multiple communication channels (e.g., speech, gesture, and grasp). My... Read More

Zerriffi Hisham Environmental geography; Forestry biomass and bioproducts; Modelling and applications of systems; Environment and natural resources economics; Environmental policy; Biomass (Energy); Energy Transformation and Energy Using; International development; Environment and Society; Ideological, Political, Economical and Social Environments of Social Transformations; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; energy poverty Any time / year round

I do not have current funding for additional graduate students or post-doctoral scholars but am generally interested in modeling of energy access in developing countries, assessment of socio-ecological linkages in energy use, household choice and welfare implications related to energy use, and synergies and tradeoffs in meeting sustainable development goals in forestry, energy and land-use.... Read More

Zhang Jenny Li Accounting; Economics and business administration; Management information systems; Finance and Accounting; Financial reporting, corporate disclosure, restatements, pension

Financial reporting, corporate disclosure, restatements, disclosure of foreign firms listed in the U.S.

Zhang Wei Public and population health; Health Policies; Pharmacoeconomics; Economic evaluation; Health economics Any time / year round

Work productivity loss measurement;

Economic evaluation of health interventions 

Zhang Gaoheng Intercultural and Ethnic Relationships; Cultural Exchanges; Migrations, Populations, Cultural Exchanges; Media and Society; Media Ethics; Media and Democratization; Migration Studies; Mobility Studies; Postcolonial Studies; Gender and Masculinity Studies; Race Theory; Film and Media Studies; Rhetoric and Communication Studies; Cultural Theory; Italian-Chinese relations; Italy's global networks; Modern and contemporary Italian literature and culture Any time / year round

Migration, postcolonial, and tourism studies relating to Italy and Europe;
Networks between Italy and China, and Europe and East Asia;
Italy's international past and present;
Transnationalism and globalization in Italy;
Media, filmic, and literary depictions of minorities;
Italian and comparative male and gender identities.

Zhou Youwen Autoimmunity; Dermatology; Gene and molecular therapy; Translation research; Genetics and genomics of skin diseases; Vitiligo, pigmentation diseases, eczema; Innovative therapeutic development Any time / year round
  1. Vitiligo pathogenesis and therapeutic development
  2. Novel melanin synthesis inhibitors
  3. Macrophage modulation in skin health

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