Please connect with a faculty supervisor before you start the application process. We look forward to hearing about your research interests and career goals.
Philip Barker | philip.barker@ubc.ca | 250.807.9582
Research interests: Neurodegenerative disease, signal transduction, neurotrophin biology, cell biology, fly and mouse genetics.
Kirk Bergstrom | kirk.bergstrom@ubc.ca | 250.807.8696
Research Interests: Host-microbiota interactions and Glycobiology.
Thu-Thuy Dang | thuy.dang@ubc.ca | 250.807.9582
Research interests: Discovering new biosynthetic enzymes and pathways, generating specialized metabolites structural and functional diversities, and re-constituting natural products metabolism in synthetic biology chassis.
Sanjoy Ghosh | sanjoy.ghosh@ubc.ca | 250.807.8162
Research interests: Biochemical aspects of dietary fats and exercise in preventing the development and complications of obesity and diabetes.
Deanna Gibson | deanna.gibson@ubc.ca | 250.807.8790
Research interests: Dietary modulation of the intestinal microbiome; immune responses and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel diseases.
Miranda Hart | miranda.hart@ubc.ca | 250.807.9398
Research interests: Microbial ecology of soil microbes; the role and the applications of microbes in sustainable agriculture, viticulture and ecological restoration.
Andis Klegeris | andis.klegeris@ubc.ca | 250.807.9557
Research interests: Neuroimmunology; pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases; Glial cell biology; cellular and molecular pharmacology; method development for protecting neurons from age-related deterioration.
Isaac Li | isaac.li@ubc.ca | 250.807.8069
Research interests: Single-molecule biophysics, optical trapping, super-resolution microscopy, programmable molecular devices and biosensors, DNA bio-nanotechnology, single-cell manipulation, cancer and immune cell biology, cell mechanics and mechanobiology.
Soheil Mahmoud | soheil.mahmoud@ubc.ca | 250.807.8752
Research interests: Molecular, cellular, biochemical and environmental factors that regulate the quality and quantity of aromas and essential oils produced by herbal and medicinal plants; identification, cloning and characterization of structural and regulatory genes that are involved in the biosynthesis, inter- and intra-cellular trafficking, secretion and storage of monoterpenes in plants cells specialized for secondary metabolite production.
Frederic Menard | frederic.menard@ubc.ca | 250.807.8225
Research interests: Chemical biology: use of small molecules to study and manipulate biological systems, design of molecular tools to study the real-time dynamics of cellular events; using organic chemistry, natural products are modified to label proteins involved in cellular signalling; the biology questions studied focus on protein-protein interactions, astrocytes communication, synapse elimination, and neurodegeneration.
Susan Murch (On Leave, returning July 1, 2022) | susan.murch@ubc.ca | 250.807.9566
Research interests: Plant chemistry and biotechnology; the identification, quantification and metabolism of plant secondary metabolites, the impact of these phytochemicals on human health, and the development of technologies for mass-production of specific plant chemicals as medicines, natural health products, food additives and functional foods.
Louise Nelson | louise.nelson@ubc.ca | 250.807.8756
Research interests: Plant-microbe interactions; soil health; plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria; biological control; postharvest fungal pathogens; orchard replant disease; nitrogen cycling; nitrification; denitrification.
Richard Plunkett | richard.plunkett@ubc.ca | 250.807.9650
Research interests: Environmental microbiology, microbe/metal interactions (e.g., Cu, U, As) and the role of microbes in biogeochemical cycles.
Mark Rheault | mark.rheault@ubc.ca | 250.807.9630
Research interests: Molecular identity and physiological characterization of various epithelial transport processes used by insects to regulate their internal ion composition, fluid balance, and pH; the processes by which insects excrete potentially toxic organic compounds or heavy metals.
Paul Shipley | paul.shipley@ubc.ca | 250.807.8749
Research interests: Organic chemistry; natural products biosynthesis; the biochemistry of secondary metabolism; nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry; rational modification of biosynthetic pathways in bacteria to produce novel compounds with the potential to be pharmacologically relevant.
Kirsten Wolthers | kirsten.wolthers@ubc.ca | 250.807.8663
Research interests: Enzyme guided radical-chemistry: use of fast reaction and spectroscopic methods to probe the interplay between protein dynamics, function and structure; rational design of biocatalysts; study of vitamin-derived cofactors by biological systems.
Wesley Zandberg | wesley.zandberg@ubc.ca | 250.807.9821
Research interests: Analytical glycobiology: the use of modern instrumental techniques to study carbohydrates, their oligomers (glycans) and their metabolism; developing new methods to investigate carbohydrates; and using chemical and analytical tools to investigate the functions of protein-linked glycans in cells and animals.