Research is a vital component of UBC Dentistry and its Strategic Plan. Our faculty conduct world-class research activities that aim to solve global oral health issues, eradicate disease and improve oral health outcomes in patients.
Highlights of research activity in the faculty include research on cancer diagnosis and prevention, forensic dentistry, dental biofilms, dental materials and instruments, dental hygiene, dental sleep medicine, interactive dental anatomy, health services research, social, cultural, environmental and population health, clinical research and basic science research in cancer, cell behaviour, craniofacial development, integrins, molecular biology, periodontal disease, proteases, proteomics and wound healing.
Our Frontier Clinical Research Centre plays a major role in the translation of basic research into clinical applications that will ultimately benefit patients, while the Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics is a core facility that offers a comprehensive suite for imaging technologies and models collaborative, interdisciplinary research across universities and organizations.
In this vibrant research environment, our faculty and graduate students excel and are consistently recognized by professional organizations for their high performance research activity with awards and accolades.
Phenogenomics is the analyses of form and function associated with altered gene expression. To measure changes, the Centre provides three-dimensional imaging and the associated analyses – all of which may also be applied to a broad spectrum of non-biological specimens. The facility and state-of-the-art imaging equipment will enable researchers from medicine to earthquake engineering to capture two- and three-dimensional information and perform in-depth analyses into the structure of specimens – from human tissue to rocks.
New knowledge generated by research advances patient care. As one of the most innovative dental schools in North America, UBC Dentistry is committed to accelerating research in oral health care. Our vision is to create chairs and professorships in the specialty areas and areas of excellence in research to attract and retain outstanding faculty.
Chairs, professorships and distinguished scholars honorifics are conferred by the university and awarded to UBC faculty members based on merit. Honorifics, distinct from faculty positions, provide an opportunity to recognize outstanding professors or recruit and attract new talent to UBC.
Chairs
A chair recognizes an established academic and leader who has attained eminence in his or her field of endeavour. A chair is held by an individual who has the rank of professor or professor of teaching. Chairs are conferred for a five-year period and may be extended by up to one year.
Professorships
A professorship recognizes an academic who has attained, or has the potential to attain, eminence in his or her field of endeavour. A professorship is held by an individual who has the rank of professor. Professorships are conferred for a five-year period and may be extended by up to one year.
Distinguished Scholars
A distinguished scholar recognizes an academic who has achieved distinction in his or her field of endeavour and is available to faculty members of all ranks. Normally this designation is conferred for a minimum of three years and may be extended to a maximum of five years.
Chairs and professorships provide opportunities for outstanding teachers and researchers to focus in particular areas of interest. For example, a family may wish to fund a position focusing on oral health care, or any other area, in memory or honour of a loved one.
Unbelievably, over 3,200 Canadians are diagnosed each year with oral cancer—the silent killer. Under the leadership of Dr. Catherine Poh, an oral pathologist and associate professor of dentistry at UBC, an extraordinary research project has been created that will directly impact the lives of oral cancer patients.
Through a detailed process of genome sequencing, Dr. Poh's research initiative will work to identify high-risk oral cancer patients that will benefit from early neck dissection. This surgical intervention represents a paradigm shift in the management of patients with oral cancer; it promises to be more cost-effective of precious healthcare resources as well as improve the prognosis and survival rate and prognosis of oral cancer patients.
Your support will directly impact the ground-breaking discoveries that improve patient care and the future for oral cancer patients.
As part of his legacy, the sixth dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Dr. Charles Shuler, has created a research fellowship fund to build the capacity for oral health research by students at UBC Dentistry. The Dr. Charles Shuler Research Fellowship Fund will enable students to undertake successful research projects by supporting their training and associated costs.
The fund will strengthen academic scholarship, advance our understanding of craniofacial health and support the development of the next generation of oral health researchers. Please join Dr. Shuler in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to participate in research by donating to the fund today.
The Faculty of Dentistry encourages original research and scholarship, which will increase knowledge and understanding, and benefit society.
In pursuit of this goal, our researchers adhere to the highest ethical standards. Attracting approximately $4 million annually in research funding – more dollars per capita than any other dental school in Canada – we strive to:
- enhance our research capacity
- strengthen our research performance
- promote the transfer of our research findings
- be recognized as the leading research university in Canada and one of the leading research universities in the world
This fund enables our researchers to increase their competitiveness at international levels and facilitates research across disciplines.