Career Opportunities

Whether you are a prospective PDF looking for a position at UBC or a current UBC PDF seeking the next step in your career, this section provides valuable information to help you advance.

Becoming a PDF at UBC

Eligibility

Postdoctoral research fellowship eligibility can be found in UBC Policy AP10, Postdoctoral Fellows. In order to be eligible for a postdoctoral fellowship, a postdoctoral fellow generally must be within 5 years of being awarded a PhD or within 10 years of being awarded a M.D. or D.D.S. degree.

First Steps

The first step in finding a PDF position at UBC is to search the research interests of individual faculty members to locate a potential supervisor. Faculty members can be contacted directly to discuss potential PDF appointment opportunities, and applications can be made directly to faculty members.

Postdoctoral appointments at UBC are managed through individual faculties and departments. The Postdoctoral Fellows Office does not accept applications nor are we involved in the hiring process.

Post a Position

If you are a UBC faculty, department/unit, or laboratory and are interested in posting a position, please refer to the Job Ads page on the G+PS Faculty & Staff portal. Positions can be cross-posted to a number of job search websites, including EurAxess and LinkedIn. For additional information, contact the PDFO.

UBC Postdoc Opportunities

UBC PDF Postings

While most PDF positions at UBC can by found by contacting a faculty member directly, some positions may be posted on individual faculty websites. Please visit Faculty Career Opportunities for a comprehensive list of links to UBC's faculties. Postdoctoral Fellowship positions may also be posted on UBC's Faculty Careers Workday portal.

The following faculty members have indicated to us that they are actively looking to attract Postdocs.

Show Faculty Interested in Postdocs

Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Technologies, Cancer Imaging, Computer Assisted Interventions, Image Guided Surgery, Machine Learning, Medical Imaging, Surgical Robotics, Ultrasound Imaging

Potential project areas:

We are actively looking for individuals with strong mathematical, computer science, and engineering background with interest in machine learning applications in biomedical engineering and medical imaging.

Research Interests: Chemosensation, Drosophila, Feeding, Gustation, Neural circuits, Neuronal Systems, Neuroscience, Sensory systems, Taste

Potential project areas:

Most projects centre on the neural circuits underlying taste processing and feeding in the fly brain. Potential projects include looking at circuit mechanisms underlying taste integration, hunger, feeding, taste memories, chemosensory integration, and taste circuit development.

Research Interests: Nutrition, Nutrients, Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms, Breast Feeding and Infant Nutrition, Clinical Chemistry, Maternal and Child Health, Micronutrients, Newborn Screening, Nutritional Biochemistry, Nutritional Biomarker, Periconceptional folic acid supplementation, Pregnancy, Prenatal Supplements, Toddler Nutrition, Vitamins

Potential project areas:

My enthusiasm for research draws from my interest in the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition-related diseases and in targeted and population-based strategies of chronic disease prevention and optimal health promotion. My research focuses on micronutrients and specifically B-vitamins and their kinetics and functions in human metabolism. B-vitamins are required for normal cell growth and neurological function and thus have an impact on human health from the embryo to the older adult. Low folate and/or vitamin B-12 status may yield pregnancy complications, low birth weight, cancer, and cognitive impairment. The overarching theme of my research is micronutrient adequacy. My current research projects focus on maternal-fetal nutrient dependency, periconceptional vitamin adequacy, and the role of maternal and infant nutrition on growth and development. In the UBC Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory that I established, my team has set up a wide array of externally validated analytical methods. One of our goals is to identify sensitive nutritional biomarkers for early diagnosis of micronutrient inadequacies. With the use of stable isotope tracer protocols, we are able to investigate metabolic and functional consequences of nutritional inadequacies and micronutrient interactions in various population groups. The studies will help elaborate potential underlying mechanisms responsible for linkages between B-vitamin intake and chronic disease risk and in the evaluation of optimal vitamin intake to maintain biochemical functions. I am interested in supervising graduate students with strong interests in biochemistry, nutrition, and biomarker analysis. Ideal candidates have strong communication skills for interaction with study participants and have experience or high interest in potential projects with a wet lab component. To read more about our current projects, team members, or highlights, please see: www.vitamins.landfood.ubc.ca

CURRENT OPENING: 1 postdoc position, CIHR-funded project to determine vitamin adequacy in reproductive-aged women. The candidate has a background in nutrition, biochemistry, life science, or related fields, preferably with experience in the conduct of clinical trials, participant recruitment and correspondence, and has strong communication skills and is highly organized. The candidate will join a dynamic team of graduate students and clinical research assistants, as well as lab technicians, to undertake this interdisciplinary project. If interested, please send your resume to yvonne.lamers@ubc.ca.

Research Interests: Proteases, Granzymes, Extracellular Matrix, Chronic inflammation, Aging, Disease models, Autoimmune disease, Skin, Vascular biology

Potential project areas:

I am looking for post-doctoral fellows. Trainees will be actively involved in the translational research effort pertaining to understanding the physiological and/or pathophysiological role(s) of the serine protease family, granzymes, in the context of skin or vascular inflammation regeneration, in aging, autoimmune and/or chronic disease. Granzymes are a family of 5 serine proteases in humans. With the exception of GzmA and GzmB, very little is known about the other 3 proteases so there are many opportunities to carve out a niche, drug development, and for publications/patents. The job is highly translational and well suited for trainees seeking greater involvement in all steps in taking basic bench research discoveries through to clinical application and potentially commercialization. Our research program spans from basic biochemistry/molecular biology through to target validation, proof-of-concept in animal and human models with a strong connection to industry. Trainees will be responsible for designing and implementing studies to further elucidate mechanisms of disease through the use of in vitro and in vivo models. Dr. Granville’s laboratory (www.granzymes.com) utilizes a variety of disease models related to aging, autoimmunity, injury, inflammation and impaired healing as they pertain to cardiovascular, pulmonary, skin, musculoskeletal, and neuroinflammatory disorders. We also interact heavily with industry and clinicians. 

Research Interests: Artistic and Literary Analysis Models, Artistic and Literary Theories, Arts and Cultural Traditions, Arts and Technologies, Brazilian Literature and Culture, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, Latin American Literatures and Cultures, Modern and Contemporary Literatures and Cultures

Research Interests: Bioactive Molecules, Biocatalysis, Bioinformatics, Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms, Biomass (Energy), Biomaterials, Bioprocess engineering, Bioremediation, Biotechnology, Drug delivery, Drug discovery & development, Medical biotechnology, Metabolic engineering, Structural Tissue Engineering / Biomaterials, Synthetic biology, Technoeconomics, Tissue engineering, Vaccines

Potential project areas:

My research group utilizes metabolic & enzyme engineering to investigate and customize novel biosynthetic enzymes that can convert biomass-derived feedstocks into value-added chemicals. We have published highly acclaimed papers on model-guided enzyme engineering, process development, enzyme discovery using metagenomics and engineering metabolic control schemes that bridge with bioprocess control and improve productivity. Each of these works represents a critical advance in our ability to employ engineered microorganisms as a manufacturing platform. We also extend the principles of metabolic engineering to the design and development of unique bioremediation strategies to rehabilitate the water quality in and around industrial zones and new mining technologies and we are currently collaborating with Suncor and Jetti Resources, respectively, to deploy novel biotechnologies in the field. In addition to green engineering, my research group also pursues medical biotechnology research, and focuses on three stages in the drug discovery life cycle – (1) bioengineering for assay development, (2) biosynthetic engineering for lead generation, and (3) pharmaceutical product development. Our work on bioengineered assays aims to assemble three-dimensional, structured brain organoids from human pluripotent stem cells for use in pre-clinical screening of hits against Alzheimer’s disease. Through this work, we have established a formal collaboration with STEMCELL Technologies. Our work on pharmaceutical product development is advancing a concept that we dub ‘medicine-by-design’, a fast and low-cost methodology to advance a drug molecule from concept to formulated product based on the synergistic application of bioinformatics and data analysis, metabolic engineering and formulation science. We work closely with an industrial partner, InMed Pharmaceuticals, and have successfully advanced two projects to clinical testing. Our work on development of a ‘smart’ contact lens for treating glaucoma is among the most read scientific articles of 2018. Similarly, our work on the development of a printable bandage for healing damaged skin in patients suffering from Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS) is currently under consideration for publication. Both works are the subjects of patent filings. We have recently initiated a new line of research in the group that fuses biology and materials science to develop better materials and transcend current limitations in manufacturing. The synergistic combination of biological systems with abiotic, functional materials that greatly improves the properties of the original host, and the resulting systems can be applied to a wealth of manufacturing, energy and environmental remediation applications. We laid the intellectual foundations of this paradigm in a forum article in Trends in Biotechnology and subsequently published a proof-of-concept study on a biohybrid photovoltaic cell that is the best in its class and could be used in bioorganic optoelectronics. My research group currently collaborates with 7 companies – STEMCELL Technologies, InMed Pharmaceuticals, Jetti Resources, Metabolik Technologies, Sanofi Pasteur, Reliance Industries Limited and Phytonix Corporation.

Research Interests: Cardiovascular disease, Children, Developmental programming, Diabetes, Obesity

Research Interests: Social Organization and Political Systems, Human Rights and Liberties, Collective Rights, Foreign Affairs, History of Indonesia

Research Interests: Community Health / Public Health, Dental Health, Social Determinants of Health, Health Policies, Quality of Life and Aging, Adult Education and Continuing Education, Epidemiology, Access to care, Dental Education, Dental Geriatrics, Dental Public Health, Epidemiological data, Health Policy, Qualitative research

Potential project areas:

Dental Public Health (Underserved-access to care, Marginalization, Community-based participatory research, Stigma and Discrimination); Health Policy; Dental Education (Community Service Learning, Reflective Journaling, Teaching Pedagogies, Social Responsibility); Dental Geriatrics (Undergraduate and Graduate Education, Frailty, Access to care), COVID-19 (vaccine hesitancy).

Research Interests: social connection, social support, stress, coping, conflict and negotiation, hormones, neuroendocrinology

Potential project areas:

I am currently recruiting graduate students and postdocs interested in:

  • understanding how hormonal changes during puberty affect teenagers’ social and emotional development
  • investigating how loneliness and social contact “get under the skin” to affect our physical health

  • developing interventions to promote social connection

Online Career Resources

After your first position at UBC, you may move to a PDF or faculty position at another university. Postings external to UBC may be found at the following websites:

The UBC Postdoctoral Association also maintains a Jobs page on their website.

UBC Faculty Careers

For current PDFs looking to embark on the next phase of their academic career, please visit Faculty Career Opportunities for a list of current UBC faculty opportunities. Please also visit UBC faculty websites for available positions within each specific faculty.