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

R

Rivarez, Mark Paul

Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Plant pathology; Agricultural ecology; Virology; Bioinformatics; Biogeography and phylogeography; Phylogeny and comparative analysis; Bacteriology; Mycology; Plant microbiota; Horticultural crop protection (pests, diseases and weeds); plant pathology; AI-based modeling; Biological control; virus evolution; virus epidemiology; pathogen diversity; bacteriology; mycology; metagenomics; high-throughput sequencing

Robeva, Elina

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Algebraic statistics; Graphical Models; Tensor decomposition; Causality; Applied algebraic geometry; Shape-constrained density estimation; Tensor networks; Algebraic statistics, Graphical models, Tensor decomposition, Causality, Applied algebraic geometry, Shape-constrained density estimation, Tensor networks

Rodriguez Mustafa, Maria Alejandra

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Economic geology; Geology; Geochemistry; Mineral Deposits

Rogak, Steven

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Aerosols, air pollution and climate; Aerosols, air pollution and climate

Rosen, David

Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Physiology, behaviour, and ecology of marine mammals;; Bioenergetics; Nutrition; Conservation physiology; Physiology, behaviour, and ecology of marine mammals; , Bioenergetics, Nutrition, Conservation physiology

Ross, Colin

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biomedical Technologies; Drug Metabolism; Gene Therapy; Gene-based therapeutics; Pharmacogenomics; Precision Medicine; transgenic models; Biomedical Technologies, Drug Metabolism, Gene Therapy, Gene-based therapeutics, Pharmacogenomics, Precision medicine, Transgenic Models

Roth, Andrew

Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Cancer Evolution; Cancer omics data; computational statistics; Computational Biology; computational methods for studying clonal population structures and tumour evolution; Evolutionary cancer biology; genomics; Machine Learning; Methodological work in computational statistics; Molecular Oncology; Bioinformatics, Cancer Evolution, Cancer omics data, Computational Statistics, Computational biology, Computational methods for studying clonal population structures and tumour evolution, Evolutionary cancer biology, Genomics, Machine Learning, Methodological work in computational statistics, Molecular Oncology

Rottler, Joerg

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Condensed Matter and Materials Physics; Nanomaterials; Polymers; Soft Matter; Solids; Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Nanomaterials, Polymers, Soft Matter, Solids

Rubin, Julia

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Computer Systems; software engineering; Software quality, security, and robustness; program analysis; Adversarial robustness, explainability, and interpretability of ML-based systems; Mobile and cloud software; Computer systems, Software engineering, Software quality, security, and robustness, Program analysis, Adversarial robustness, explainability, and interpretability of ML-based systems, Mobile and cloud software

Russell, Kelly

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

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

volcanology; petrology; magma rheology; geochemical thermodynamics; volcanology, petrology, magma rheology, geochemical thermodynamics

Ryu, Min Hyung

Division of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Basic medicine and life sciences; Respiratory sciences; Transcriptomics; Bioinformatics, n.e.c.; Environmental Respiratory Diseases; Genomics and Transcriptomics; Bioinformatics and Data Science; Personalized Medicine in Respiratory Care; Application of Next-generation Sequencing

S

Sadarangani, Manish

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria; Bacterial Vaccines; Childhood infections; Epidemiology; Immune System; Vaccine Development; Vaccine immunity; Clinical trials and observational studies; Antimicrobial resistant bacteria, Bacterial Vaccines, Childhood infections, Epidemiology, Immune System, Vaccine Development, Vaccine immunity, Clinical trials and observational studies

Samuels, Anne Lacey

Department of Botany, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

plant cell biology; plant cell walls; Plant cell biology, Plant cell walls

Sargent, Risa

Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biological control; community ecology; evolutionary ecology; Floral trait evolution; Flowering plants; Herbivory; Pollinator-mediated interactions; Biological control, Community ecology, Evolutionary ecology, Floral trait evolution, Flowering plants, Herbivory, Pollinator-mediated interactions

Sarkar, Shuvam

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Condensed matter experiments; Quantum materials; Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Schiebinger, Geoffrey

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Applied & Theoretical Statistics; Computational Genomics; data science; Genetics; Genome Sciences; Machine Learning; Measurement technologies; Models Inference and Algorithms; Single-cell RNA sequencing; Theory of Statistics; Applied & Theoretical Statistics, Computational Genomics, Data Science, Genetics, Genome Sciences, Machine Learning, Measurement technologies, Models Inference and Algorithms, Single-cell RNA sequencing, Theory of Statistics

Schluter, Dolph

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

evolution; Origin of species; evolutionary genetics; Adaptive radiation; Evolution, Origin of species, Evolutionary genetics, Adaptive radiation

Schoof, Christian

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

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

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; 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

Schuetz, Christian

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Scoates, James

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

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

magmatic evolution; layered intrusions; flood basalts; large igneous provinces; Proterozoic anorthosites; magmatic ore deposits; magmatic evolution, layered intrusions, flood basalts, large igneous provinces, Proterozoic anorthosites, magmatic ore deposits

Scott, Douglas

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Cosmology; Science and Knowledge; Cosmology, Science and Knowledge

Semenoff, Gordon Walter

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

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; 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

Shahrad, Mohammad

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

cloud computing; serverless computing; Resource Management; Sustainable computing; data center efficiency; Cloud computing, Serverless computing, Resource management, Sustainable computing, Data center efficiency

Sharma, Abhishek

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

particle physics;

Sheel, William

School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

airways, exercise, hypoxia, pulmonary physiology, respiratory muscle; airways, exercise, hypoxia, pulmonary physiology, respiratory muscle

Shelhamer, Evan

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Machine learning; Computer vision in artificial intelligence; Artificial intelligence (AI); Machine Learning; Computer Vision / Visual Recognition; Robustness and Adaptation; Self-Supervised / Unsupervised Learning; Applications to Remote Sensing and Sustainability

Shepherd, Bruce

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Algorithms, Combinatorics, Polyhedra; Algorithms, Combinatorics, Polyhedra

Shmerkin, Pablo

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Metric and fractal geometry; fractal geometry; Harmonic Analysis; ergodic theory; Connections with additive combinatorics and probability

Sigal, Leonid

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Artificial Intelligence; Computer Science and Statistics; Parametric and Non-Parametric Inference; Computer Vision; Machine Learning; Semantic Recognition; Vision + Natural Language Processing; Visual Recognition and Understanding; Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science and Statistics, Parametric and Non-Parametric Inference, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Semantic Recognition, Vision + Natural Language Processing, Visual Recognition and Understanding

Silberman, Lior

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Mathematics; Analysis on manifolds; Automorphic forms; Group Theory; Homogenous dynamics; Metric geometry; Number theory; Representation Theory; Topology; Mathematics, Analysis on manifolds, Automorphic forms, Group Theory, Homogenous dynamics, Metric geometry, Number theory, Representation Theory, Topology

Silva, Luis

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Life histories; Biological evolution, n.e.c.; Disease Ecology; evolutionary ecology; Parasitology; Microbiology and Immunology; host-parasite interactions; Ecological immunology; Virulence evolution; Tolerance evolution

Singh, Ashutosh

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

condensed matter physics; Solid State Chemistry; Altermagnetism; Antiferromagnetism;

Sinnamon, Luanne Silvia

School of Information, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

human information interaction; Information Systems; information retrieval; New Technology and Social Impacts; Human information interaction, Information Systems, Information retrieval, New Technology and Social Impacts

Smukler, Sean

Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Agricultural ecology; Soil health; Climate change adaptation and mitigation; Ecosystem services; Agricultural ecology, Soil health, Climate change adaptation and mitigation, Ecosystem services

Soma, Kiran

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Behavior; Biological Behavior; Endocrinology; Neuroendocrine Diseases; Neuronal Communication and Neurotransmission; Neuronal Systems; neuroscience; stress; Behavior, Biological Behavior, Endocrinology, Neuroendocrine Diseases, Neuronal Communication and Neurotransmission, Neuronal Systems, Neuroscience, Stress

Somasekharan, Syam

Department of Urologic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Cancer, n.e.c.; Cell biology, n.e.c.; RNA Biology; Cell Biology; molecular biology; Biomolecular Condensates; Nucleolus; mRNA Translation; Liquid-liquid Phase Separation

Speak, Thomas

Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral Fellow

Astrochemistry; Development and applications of spectroscopic and structural techniques; Reaction kinetics and dynamics; Chemical thermodynamics and energetics; Computational chemistry; atmospheric chemistry; combustion chemistry; astrochemistry; origins of life; reaction kinetics; energetic materials

Spering, Miriam

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biological sciences; vision; movement; perception and action; eye movements; hand movements; eye-hand coordination; sport vision; Parkinson's disease

Srivastava, Diane

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

community ecology, food webs, tropical conservation, metacommunities, open science, data syntheses,; community ecology, food webs, tropical conservation, metacommunities, open science, data syntheses,

Steif, Adi

Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Algorithms and computational genomics; Genomics; Cancer genetics; Mechanisms of carcinogenesis; Cancer progression and metastasis; Statistical methods for high throughput data; High dimensional data analysis; Computational Biology; Machine Learning; Cancer Genomics; Single cell sequencing; Tumour evolution; Genomic technology development

Straus, Suzana

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Proteins; Antimicrobial peptides; Protein-protein interactions; Structure-function; Viral membrane proteins; Proteins, Antimicrobial peptides, Protein-protein interactions, Structure-function, Viral membrane proteins

Stull, Roland

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

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

weather; Meteorology; atmospheric science; numerical weather prediction; clean energy meteorology; storms; transportation weather; forest fire weather; weather disasters; atmospheric boundary layers; aviation meteorology; weather, meteorology, atmospheric science, numerical weather prediction, clean energy meteorology, storms, transportation weather, forest fire weather, weather disasters, atmospheric boundary layers, aviation meteorology

Summers, Alexander

Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

programming languages; software engineering; programming languages, software engineering

Sun, Chin

Faculty of Science

Faculty (non-G+PS member)

Natural sciences; I am a field ecologist by training,having studied behaviour and ecology of mammals and birds

Sun, Jim

Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Cellular immunology; Pathogenesis; Intracellular signaling, signal transduction, receptor and membrane biology; Bacteriology; Host immunity to tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Cellular microbiology; Host-directed therapy; TB drug discovery; Macrophage biology; Intracellular pathogens

Sunderland, Terence

Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

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; 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

Suttle, Curtis

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

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biological Oceanography; Environmental Virology; Marine Environment; Marine Microbiology; Microbial Diversity; Phage; Viral Discovery; Viruses; Biological Oceanography, Environmental Virology, Marine Environment, Marine Microbiology, Microbial Diversity, Phage, Viral Discovery, Viruses

Swindale, Nicholas

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Eye and Visual System Diseases; Neuronal Modeling; Neuronal Systems; Visual System; Eye and Visual System Diseases, Neuronal Modeling, Neuronal Systems, Visual System

T

Tam, Roger

School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Biomedical Design and Innovation; Biomedical Technologies; Computer Science and Statistics; Data Analytics; Medical Imaging; Machine Learning; Neurodegenerative diseases; Precision Medicine; Radiology; Biomedical Design and Innovation, Biomedical Technologies, Computer Science and Statistics, Data Analytics, Medical Imaging, Machine Learning, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Precision Medicine, Radiology

Tang, Xin

Michael Smith Laboratories, Faculty of Science

Faculty (G+PS eligible/member)

Bioinformatics; Artificial intelligence (AI); Cell biology; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Mathematical biology; Genetics; Medical and biomedical engineering; Cancer; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Explainable and Interpretable Learning, Representation Learning, Knowledge Distillation; Biologically Informed Neural Network, Physically Informed Neural Network; Knowledge Distillation, Biological LLM, Biomedical Image Processing; Computational Cell Biology, Single-cell Biology, Multi-omics, Virtual Cell, Spatial Omics; Brain-Computer Interface, Neuroscience, Brain Mapping; Cancer Genomics, Development, Aging

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