August 16, 2023
The Government of BC is supporting UBC research with more than $4.7 million through the BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF).
Students and faculty at UBC are using the infrastructure and equipment funded by the BCKDF to conduct research with real-world implications, from mental health to cancer treatment, Indigenous conservation, spinal cord injuries, nutrition and more.
“Supporting research by investing in laboratories helps drive innovation and strengthens learning opportunities for students,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.
The BCKDF helps grow the economy by improving B.C.’s productivity and competitiveness, and provides other benefits including potential commercialization, spinoffs, patents, improved environmental management and discoveries that directly affect the health and well-being of British Columbians.
Supported projects at UBC Vancouver
- Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen (Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education) — Mental Health and Intersectionality Research Lab for Data Analytics and Digital Therapy
- Dr. Ly Vu (Pharmaceutical Sciences) — RNA Biology in Hematological Malignancies
- Dr. Andrea Reid (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries) — Indigenous Fisheries Conservation in a Changing World
- Dr. Brian Kwon (Orthopaedics) — Canada Research Chair in Spinal Cord Injury
- Dr. Mahmoud Pouladi (Medical Genetics) — The use of Human Stem Cells to Understand Mechanisms and Develop Treatments for Neurological Disorders
- Dr. David Wright (Land and Food Systems) — Metabolic Caging for the Assessment of Energy Balance and Substrate Utilization in Mice
- Dr. Kayla Fewster (School of Kinesiology) — Infrastructure for Advanced Spine Mechanics Research
- Dr. Gregor Reid (Pediatrics) — BRAvE at BCCH
- Dr. David Kitts (Land and Food Systems) — UBC Food & Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC)
- Dr. Friedrich Götz (Psychology) — The Personality and Geographical Ambiance – PANGEA Lab: A Locally Rooted Globally-Connected Big-Data Research Hub
- Dr. David Jones (Physics and Astronomy) — Advanced Laser Ablation Spectroscopy: A Green Path to Canada’s Critical Minerals
- Dr. Trevor Carey (Civil Engineering) — Cyclic Direct Simple Shear Equipment for Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Testing
- Dr. Ben Britton (Materials Engineering) — 3D-MARVIN: 3D Microstructural Analysis, Reconstruction, Visualization & Inspection
Supported projects at UBC Okanagan
- Dr. Sarah Purcell (Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, Medicine) — Human Nutrition and Energy Balance in Chronic Disease Laboratory
- Dr. Jonathan Holzman (School of Engineering) — Emerging Technologies for Optical Wireless Communications
- Dr. Pourang Irani (Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science) — Infrastructure for Exploring In-Situ User Interfaces
- Dr. Suliman Gargoum (School of Engineering) — Smart Analytics Lab for Modelling Advanced and Livable Infrastructure Systems -SALMALIS
Read the announcement and research backgrounders
“The BCKDF enables UBC’s talented faculty, post-docs and students to drive research and develop solutions for society's most urgent challenges, while advancing the physical and economic well-being of British Columbians. These investments in research infrastructure reflect the breadth of research capabilities and expertise at UBC campuses. From mental health to cancer treatment, Indigenous conservation, green technologies and more, UBC’s research excellence is improving lives.”
Deborah Buszard, interim President and Vice-Chancellor, UBC