Natural sciences

This division comprises research and experimental development in natural sciences. Natural sciences refer to scientific disciplines concerned with understanding, exploring or developing the natural world, in the field of natural sciences, which includes mathematics and statistics; computer and information sciences; physical sciences; chemical sciences; earth and related environmental sciences; biological sciences; and other natural sciences. Research consists of systematic investigation carried by means of experiment or analysis to achieve a scientific or technological advance such as acquiring new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts. Experimental development consists of new or substantially improved goods, services, systems, methods or processes.

Sub-Categories

Mathematics and statistics

Computer and information sciences

Physical sciences

Chemical sciences

Biological sciences

Other natural sciences

Research Centres, Institutes & Clusters

Biodiversity frontiers in a rapidly changing world

Graduate Degree Programs

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

Applied Animal Biology offers opportunities for advanced study and research leading to a Ph.D. degree in animal physiology, behaviour, welfare, and management of livestock, companion animals, research animals, wildlife species, aquaculture, and on the human-animal relationship. The program is…

Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD)

UBC research in astronomy and astrophysics covers most areas of current interest in this broad field, including a wide range of theoretical and observational studies in astronomy, and also experimental and theoretical studies in cosmology. Research at optical wavelengths includes searches and…

Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD)

Atmospheric scientists use principles of classical physics to study, explain, and predict atmospheric behavior on scales ranging from turbulent eddies through storm clouds to earth’s global circulation. We are motivated by weather-related big societal issues including climate change, air quality,…

Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)

The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program provides advanced, research-based education that will prepare students for a career in academic, industrial, or professional positions in British Columbia and beyond. The Program offers MSc and PhD degrees, with the option to transfer from…

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)

The Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)is an interdisciplinary program that combines the application of computer technology to the management and analysis of biological data. The result is that computers are being used to organize data generated from experiments into databases, develop new…

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

The Botany Department is one of the largest and strongest plant-focused departments in North America with roots extending back to the founding of UBC in 1915. Our departmental community of more than 260 consists of 40 full-time faculty members, several part-time faculty or associates, about 100…

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration in Finance (PhD)

The PhD Program in Business Administration welcomes applications from individuals planning research-oriented academic careers. As well as gaining access to a world of knowledge and opportunity, Sauder PhD students benefit from the individual attention they receive from faculty members - right from…

Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD)

The graduate program in Cell and Developmental Biology offers M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees to students undertaking advanced study and research in cell and developmental biology. The program is flexible and is designed to accommodate the diverse backgrounds of students and the broad nature of research in…

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

In the Chemistry department Faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, undergraduates and staff members work cooperatively in a collegial environment to tackle some of the world's most pressing problems related to energy, health and sustainability. Research areas in the department cover…

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)

PhD students in the Department of Computer Science may focus their research in the following areas: Artificial Intelligence: computer vision, decision theory/game theory, knowledge representation and reasoning, intelligent user interfaces, machine learning, natural language understanding and…

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

The Genome Science and Technology graduate program is a trans-disciplinary program that combines genomic research with leading-edge technology development in genome sciences for students pursing an M.Sc. or Ph.D. This program is intended to accommodate the diverse background of students and the…

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD)

Our program delivers an interdisciplinary experience, combining principles of geotechnical engineering, hydrogeology and geology, to provide a versatile set of skills needed to solve a wide range of practical problems related to engineering interactions with the earth environment. Faculty members…

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)

Geologists study the materials that make up the earth, the features and structures found on Earth as well as the processes by which these features and structures formed. Our department has a wide range of expertise in geological sciences, including field-based studies (e.g., mineral deposit…

Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD)

Theoretically, experimentally, and observationally oriented Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master of Applied Science (M.A.Sc.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs are offered in a number of key areas of geophysics. Current interests include topics in observational and theoretical glaciology;…

Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)

UBC iSchool’s Ph.D. program is a four-year funded program that combines coursework with independent study and research. Students have access to faculty members and advisors and benefit from unique opportunities at a research-intensive university. The Ph.D. program is designed to provide advanced…

UBC Researchers

K

Kenne, Steve Cyrille

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Calculus of variations, systems theory and control theory; Partial and ordinary differential equations; Mathematical biology; Optimal control theory; Partial Differential Equations; Multiscale modelling of infectious diseases

Kobor, Michael

Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biochemistry; Bioinformatics; Genetic medicine; Genomics; Chromatin Biology; Epigenetics; molecular biology; Social Epigenetics

Kolind, Shannon

Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Medical physics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; brain; Imaging; MRI; medical physics; multiple sclerosis; myelin; Neurological Disease; spinal cord

Kopp, Janel

Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Genomics; Modeling cancer; Pancreas; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic development

Korthauer, Keegan

Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Genomics; Statistics; Epigenomics; Single-cell analysis; Statistical genomics

Kremen, Claire

Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Natural environment sciences; Zoology; agroecological farming systems; Reconciliation of agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation; sustainable landscapes

Kroc, Edward

Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, Faculty of Education

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Statistical theory and modeling; Mathematical modelling and simulation; Ecological applications, n.e.c.; Psychological methodology design and analysis, and psychometrics; measurement; Measurement error; Statistics; urban ecology; Seabirds; Gulls; Quantitative ecology

Kronstad, James

Michael Smith Laboratories, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Immunology; Microbiology; Plant biology; Mycology; Fungal diseases of plants; Genomics and Proteomics; Medical Mycology; Molecular Genetics; Pathogenesis of infectious diseases; Plant-Microbe Interactions

Krzic, Maja

Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Soil sciences; Soil health; Soil management; Soil science education

Kumar, Gaurav

Faculty of Forestry

Postdoctoral Fellow

Operations Research; Decision Analytics; Logistics & Supply chain management; Freight Transportation;

Kwakkel, Erik

School of Information, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Codicology; History of Libraries; History of the Book; Medieval Manuscripts; Paleography; History of Reading; Codicology, History of Libraries, History of the Book, Medieval Manuscripts, Paleography, History of Reading

L

Lague, Marysa

Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Climate modelling; Environmental monitoring; Atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics; Planetary atmospheres studies; Atmospheric sciences, n.e.c.; Mathematical modelling and simulation; Mathematical biology; Other natural sciences, n.e.c.; Climate Modelling; Land-atmosphere interactions; Climate Dynamics; Climate; Planetary Science; Atmospheric dynamics; Water, Ice, Landscapes; Climate: Science, Change, Action; Earth System Modelling

Lam, Tzeng Yih

Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Quantitiative methods in forestry; Forestry management and environment; Statistical theory and modeling; Survey methodology and analysis; Bayesian Filtering; Forest Inventory; Growth and Yield; Sampling Theory; silviculture; Timber; Tree Measurement

Lange, Philipp

Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Genomics; Pathology (except oral pathology); Cell Signaling and Cancer; mass spectrometry; pediatric cancer; personalized medicine; post translational protein modification; Proteomics

Lapointe, Sebastien

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Functional materials in materials chemistry sciences; Organometallic Chemistry; Inorganic Chemistry; Polymer chemistry

Laule, Cornelia

Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Medical physics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Pathology (except oral pathology); Auto-Immune Diseases; Axons; brain; Central Nervous System Inflammatory Diseases; Cerebral Atrophy; Histology; image analysis; Imaging; Inflammation; magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; multiple sclerosis; myelin; Nervous System Development; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurological diseases; Neuronal Systems; pain; Pathology; Schizophrenia; Spinal Cord Diseases; spinal cord; Spinal cord injury

Laval, Bernard

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Civil engineering; Oceanography

Leander, Brian

Department of Botany, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Plant biology; Zoology; Comparative organismal biology; Evolutionary morphology; Evolutionary protistology; Marine biodiversity; Marine invertebrate zoology; Phylogenetic biology; Species discovery

Leavitt, Blair

Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Genetic medicine; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Ataxia; Dementia; Experimental Therapeutics; Frontotemporal Dementia; Gene regulation; Gene Silencing and Gene Editing; Gene Therapy; Huntington disease; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Medical Genetics; Mouse models of disease; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurogenetics

Leeks, Asher

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biological evolution; Social evolution in viruses; Evolutionary Biology; Virology; Evolutionary theory; Mathematical modeling; Bioinformatics; Social evolution; Microbiology

Lefeuvre, Hugo

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Computing systems, n.e.c.

Lemieux, Caroline

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Programming languages and software engineering; help developers improve the correctness, security, and performance of software systems; test-input generation; specification mining; program synthesis

Lemieux, Victoria

School of Information, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Archival, repository and related studies; Records and information management (except business records and information management); Digital humanities; Blockchain technology and Ecosystems; Trust and Records; Privacy; security; Risk management; Transparency and the public interest (in public sector and financial contexts)

LeMoult, Joelle

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Psychology and cognitive sciences; depression and psychobiological responses to stress; understanding how depression develops and unfolds across the lifespan

Lerner, Jackie

Faculty of Science

Faculty (non-G+PS member)

Environmental impact assessment; Land use and environmental planning; cumulative effects assessment; gender-based analysis

Leyton-Brown, Kevin

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Computer and information sciences; Artificial Intelligence; Algorithms; theoretical computer science; Resource Allocation; Computer Science and Statistics; Auction theory; game theory; Machine Learning

Lister, Alison

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Particle physics, experimental; Large Hadron Collier (LHC); ATLAS experiment; Search for physics beyond the standard model; top quarks; dark matter; Machine Learning; Long-lived particles

Liu, Tina

Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Atmospheric pollution and air quality; Earth system sciences; Natural hazards; Climate change impacts and adaptation; Environmental geography; modern human-fire relationships; role of fire in the Earth system; impacts of extreme events on planetary health; air quality and public health; satellite remote sensing and big geospatial data

Liu-Ambrose, Teresa

Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Physical therapy; Rehabilitation medicine; Healthy Aging; exercise; Fall prevention; Cognitive Aging; Randomized Controlled Trials; Physical Activity; Mobility; Neuroimaging; Sleep

Lloyd, Samantha

Faculty of Science

Faculty (non-G+PS member)

Medical physics; Automation in external beam and brachytherapy treatment planning and delivery; Application of optical surface guidance for radiation therapy setup and motion monitoring; Machine learning for cancer outcomes prediction; Systems design for safety and quality control; Clinical trials

Loewen, Christopher

Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Genomics; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); Autism; Cancer Cell Metabolism; Cell Biology; Cell polarity; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Genetic Networks; Golgi; Lipid Signalling; Lipid Traffic; Membrane Contact Sites; Membrane Diffusion Barriers; Membranes and Organelles; Super Resolution Microscopy; Systems Biology

Loewen, Philip

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Mathematical optimization; Calculus of Variations; Optimal Control; optimization; Machine Learning

Luciani, Dan

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Cell metabolism; Cell differentiation, proliferation and death; Organelle function; Other basic medicine and life sciences; Diabetes; Pancreatic beta-cell function and failure; Mitochondrial physiology; Lysosomal physiology; Cell calcium signalling; Cell stress signalling; Mechanisms of cell death; autophagy; Cellular senescence; fluorescence microscopy

Lukes, Laura

Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Earth and related environmental sciences; Psychology and cognitive sciences; Education; Geoscience Education Research (Discipline-Based Education Research); Self-regulated Learning; field-based experiential learning; learning in informal settings (e.g., museums, parks, science centers); crowdsourced and citizen science; teacher beliefs; motivation, emotion, and beliefs in learning; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in STEM; learning engineering

M

MacFarlane, Andrew

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Nuclear chemistry; Development and applications of spectroscopic and structural techniques; Surfaces and structural properties of condensed matter; Solid state chemistry; Characterization of materials; Condensed matter experiments; Condensed matter characterization technique development; Condensed matter physics

MacLachlan, Mark

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Supramolecular inorganic chemistry; Inorganic materials; Supramolecular organic chemistry; Synthesis of materials; Functional materials in materials chemistry sciences; Supramolecular Chemistry; Nanomaterials; Biomaterials; Cellulose nanocrystals; Chitin; Materials Chemistry; Inorganic Chemistry

MacLean, Karon

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Computer and information sciences; Information Systems; design of user interfaces; haptic interfaces; human-computer interaction; human-robot interaction

Madison, Kirk

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Atomic, molecular, and optical physics; Quantum sensors; Quantum Gases; Laser cooling; Bose-Einstein Condesation; Fermi-Degenerate Gases; Quantum optics; Laser physics

Mallik, Wrik

Faculty of Applied Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Fluid-structure interaction; Acoustics and noise control (except architectural acoustics); Machine learning; Reduced-order modelling; Machine Learning; Underwater wave propagation; Multidisciplinary design optimization

Man, Allison

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Cosmology and extragalactic astronomy; galaxy formation and evolution

Manges, Amee

School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Epidemiology; Molecular epidemiology; Public health; Bioinformatics; metagenomics; Microbiome; Epidemiology, Molecular epidemiology, Public health

Marra, Marco

Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Genomics; Bioinformatics, n.e.c.; Epigenetics and epigenomics; Genetics, n.e.c.; Cancer genetics; Genetics; Epigenomics; Cancer biology

Marshall, Katie

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Animal physiology, environmental stress; Environmental Change; Marine biodiversity; Population Ecology; invertebrates and temperature adaptation

Martone, Patrick

Department of Botany, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Plant biology; Protist; Plants; Physiology; Taxonomy and Systematics; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Evolution and Phylogenesis; Biomaterials; Solid Mechanics; Fluid mechanics; biomechanics; Ecology; evolution; Intertidal Zone; Macroalgae; Phycology

Matsubara, Joanne Aiko

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Sensory systems, visual; Cellular interactions (including adhesion, matrix and cell wall); Gene and molecular therapy; Cellular neuroscience; neuroscience; vision; cell and development; cell death pathways; innate immune response; eye disease, retinal degenerations; Alzheimer's disease; neurodegeneration

Matsuuchi, Linda

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Intracellular signaling, signal transduction, receptor and membrane biology; Cell Biology; Immunology

Matthews, Benjamin

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Genomics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Aedes aeygpti mosquitoes; Arboviral pathogens; Chikungunya; Comparative Physiology; Dengue fever; Genome of mosquitoes; Yellow fever; Zika

Matthews, Philip

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Animal physiology, respiration; Insect biology; Animal physiology, biophysics; Comparative biomechanics; Animal physiological ecology; Comparative Physiology; biomechanics; Insect physiology; Respiratory Physiology

Maxwell, Christopher

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Mechanisms of carcinogenesis; Cell differentiation, proliferation and death; Pediatric cancer; Cancer progression and metastasis; Hereditary Cancer; Cell division; Cell migration; Differentiation; Cell polarity

Mayer, Ulrich

Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Geology; groundwater contamination; groundwater remediation; hydrogeology; low-temperature geochemistry; mine waste management

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