Envisioned by Dr. Michael Smith, a Nobel Laureate and a pioneer at the interface of biology and technology, UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories (originally named Biotechnology Laboratory) was the first of its kind: a dynamic hub that includes clusters of interdisciplinary researchers working together, under one roof. This hub became a community where biologists and engineers collaborate to make impactful contributions to society’s greatest needs. Fast-forward two decades, the Michael Smith Laboratories (MSL) is home to a team of researchers from a number of faculties including Science, Medicine, Applied Science, Forestry, and Land and Food Systems.
The Michael Smith Laboratories is an interdisciplinary unit that brings together biologists and engineers to discover innovative solutions to problems of societal importance. Research conducted at the Michael Smith Laboratories includes the development of the world’s first vaccine to reduce the spread of E. coli by cattle, the decoding of the DNA of tree-killing fungus found in the mouth of mountain pine beetles, and developing innovative drugs to treat chronic pain and other therapies.
The Michael Smith Laboratories is the perfect place for biotechnology research - providing a supportive infrastructure that enables unique opportunities for academic and personal advancement within an interdisciplinary model. Diverse clusters of over 300 researchers from different faculties work together, exchanging ideas and expertise, to discover innovative solutions to research problems of societal importance.
Whether you are looking to join us through our Genome Science and Technology (GSAT) graduate program or our Bioinformatics graduate program, the Michael Smith Laboratories has a unique program to jump-start your passion in biotechnology.
| Name | Research Interests |
|---|---|
| Blakney, Anna | Biomedical materials; Medical molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins; Gene and molecular therapy; Gene delivery; RNA; Biomaterials; Immunoengineering |
| Bohlmann, Joerg | plant biochemistry, forestry genomics, forest health, conifers, poplar, bark beetle, mountain pine beetle, natural products, secondary metabolites, terpenes, floral scent, grapevine, Conifer genomics Forest health genomics Mountain pine beetle, fungus, pine interactions and genomics Chemical ecology of conifer, insect interactions |
| Brumer, Harry | Biochemistry; Chemical sciences; Genomics; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; biomass; carbohydrates; cellulose; Chemical Synthesis and Catalysis; Enzymes; microbiota; plant cell walls; polysaccharides |
| Finlay, B Brett | Infectious agents, bacteria, microbial infections and how humans react to it |
| Foster, Leonard | Biochemistry; Genomics; Agriculture; antigen presentation; Bioinformatics; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Biotechnology; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Honey bees; host-pathogen interactions; Immune System; Microbiology; Proteomics; Systems Biology |
| Gsponer, Joerg | Protein-DNA, protein-RNA and protein-protein interactions |
| Haynes, Charles | Protein purification, recombinant proteins, molecular thermodynamics, biocompatible polymers |
| Hieter, Philip | Molecular biology of eukaryotic chromosome transmission |
| Hirst, Martin | Bioinformatics; Clinical oncology; Genomics; Immunology; Microbiology; Carcinogenesis; Cellular Differentiation; Epigenomics; Leukemia; Molecular Genetics |
| Jefferies, Wilfred Arthur | Iron transport molecules |
| Kronstad, James | Bioinformatics; Immunology; Microbiology; Plant biology; Mycology; Fungal diseases of plants; Genomics and Proteomics; Medical Mycology; Molecular Genetics; Pathogenesis of infectious diseases; Plant-Microbe Interactions |
| Leslie, Sabrina | |
| Li, Xin | Molecules in plants, plants defence against pathogen infection, plant genes |
| Marra, Marco | Genetics; Epigenomics; Cancer biology; Genetics, Epigenomics, Cancer biology |
| Mayor, Thibault | Biochemistry; Genomics; Aging; Cell Biology; Neurodegenerative diseases; Proteasome; Protein Degradation; Protein Folding; Proteomics; Proteostasis; Ubiquitin; Yeast Genetics |
| Miller, Freda | |
| Pavlidis, Paul | Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Engineering and technology; genomics; Bioinformatics; cellular and molecular neuroscience; Genetics; disorders of the nervous system; single-cell genomics; Computational Biology; Gene regulation |
| Piret, James | Biomedical engineering, regenerative medicine Cell-based therapies have the potential to provide improved treatments for major diseases such as cancer and diabetes |
| Snutch, Terrance Preston | Medical biotechnology, n.e.c.; Brain Disorders; Animal models; genomics; Drug discovery & development |
| Tang, Xin | 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 |
| 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; Genetic and molecular basis of adaptation; Plant genomics; Chromosomal structural variation; Crop improvement and bioengineering; Wild sunflowers ecology and evolution; Cannabis diversity and domestication |
| Tokuriki, Nobuhiko | Experimental evolution of proteins and molecular networks. |
| Zandstra, Peter | Medical biotechnology; Medical and biomedical engineering; Stem cell bioengineering; Bioengineering; Synthetic biology; Biomedical Engineering; Immuno-engineering; Biotechnology; Computational Biology; Computational modeling; Gene/Cell Therapy Systems; genomics; Immunology; personalized medicine; Regenerative medicine; Synthetic biology |
