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UBC Science Okanagan

@fos.ubco

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In the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, students build relationships with faculty while working on research with local & global impact.

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“Dosimetric analysis along core-needle biopsies in prostate HDR brachytherapy”

A biopsy carries more information than its cells alone. Where it came from and the treatment it was exposed to can help researchers interpret what they find in the laboratory.

At BC Cancer Kelowna and UBC Okanagan, we developed a computational framework that connects prostate biopsy samples to radiation treatment maps, estimating how dose varies along each sample. Because dose can change sharply over just a few millimetres, the framework accounts for uncertainty in the tissue’s original location.

Using two example biopsies, we demonstrate how this approach characterizes radiation exposure and identifies portions of tissue with similar or contrasting doses. This provides a foundation for future studies connecting radiation exposure with molecular and cellular measurements. The work illustrates how image-guided interventions can help preserve a sample’s clinical context, bringing imaging, treatment and laboratory research together.

🔗 Check out their paper in Physics in Medicine & Biology via the link in our bio.

#UBCOResearch #GraduateStudentResearch #MedicalPhysics #RadiationOncology by @fos.ubco

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an hour ago

The MBtec program is hosting Bench to Industry: Hiring Manager Insights—a must‑attend workshop for students and trainees exploring industry careers.

🎤 Featuring Ian Richmond, Senior Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, with 24+ years of hiring experience across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

📅 Thurs., October 22, 2026 | 2:30–4:00 PM |📍ART 214

✅ Résumés
✅ Interviews
✅ Networking
✅ Standing out—even without industry experience

👥 Open to 4th‑year undergrads (Bio/Chem/Biochem), MSc students, PhD students & postdocs
☕ Refreshments provided
⚠️ Space is limited—pre‑registration required

👉 Register using our link in bio.

#UBCOkanagan #UBCO #AcademiatoCareer #Science by @fos.ubco

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3 days ago

Undergraduate students Regan Nguyen and Yurika Oda are mapping medicine production in plants. 🪴🌱⁣
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Some painkillers and cancer treatments rely on compounds that currently require destroying massive quantities of specific trees to produce. Regan and Yurika are working in Dr. Thu-Thuy Dang’s biochemistry lab to change that, mapping how plants make these compounds so they can be produced more sustainably.⁣
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Learn more via the link in our bio. taken in UBC Okanagan by @fos.ubco

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3 days ago

Congratulations to the 2026 Faculty of Science Community Award winners! We’re proud to recognize these outstanding students, staff and faculty whose outreach and educational leadership are making a lasting impact across campus and beyond.

✨ Diversity and Inclusion Award
Dr. Ifeoma Adaji, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
This awards recognizes individuals who have demonstrated excellence in supporting and promoting EDI from an intersectional social justice lens.

🤝 Faculty and Staff Outreach Award
Dr. Emmanuel Osei, Assistant Professor, Biology (not pictured)
This award recognizes individuals who are making substantial, diverse, and sustained contributions to community outreach.

🎓 Outreach Award for Undergraduate Students
Avery Aardema, 4th-year Honours Biology
This award recognizes individuals who are making substantial, diverse, and sustained contributions to community outreach.

🌟 Educational Leadership Award
Dr. Craig Nichol, Associate Professor of Teaching, Earth and Environmental Sciences (not pictured)
This award recognizes excellence in educational leadership in the Faculty.

🍎 Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award
Dr. Ken Savage, Lecturer, Biology
This award recognizes faculty who achieve high standards in student learning and implement effective teaching and assessment methods in their classes. by @fos.ubco

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4 days ago

Research is helping communities better prepare for wildfire risks beyond the fireline. UBC Okanagan's Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Assistant Professor and Co-director of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, speaks with CBC News about how wildfires can affect drinking water quality and the importance of proactive watershed management. His team has contributed to Kimberley's watershed wildfire risk reduction efforts, helping protect critical drinking water sources.

🔗 Read more via the link in our bio.

#UBCOkanagan #WildfireResearch #ClimateResilience #WaterSecurity #WatershedManagement

📷 Smoke rises from the Matthew Creek wildfire near Kimberley, B.C., on July 19. (B.C. Wildfire Service via CBC) by @fos.ubco

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4 days ago

Join Dr. Laura Sly, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC Vancouver, as she discusses "GlycoCaging," an innovative drug-delivery strategy that uses the gut microbiome to activate therapeutics exactly where they are needed in the lower gastrointestinal tract. Learn how this promising approach could reduce side effects, lower drug dosages and advance the development of next-generation IBD therapies.

📅 Mon. October 19 | ⏰ 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. |📍ART 106

Find out more: in our link in bio.

#UBCOkanagan #ResearchSeminar #GutMicrobiome #BiomedicalResearch #FacultyofScience by @fos.ubco

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5 days ago

“A distal record of the erosional unroofing of the Trans-Hudson orogen preserved in the ∼1.6 Ga Ellice Formation, Elu basin, Nunavut”

The detrital mineral zircon is a powerful reconstructive tool used to understand the transport of material that now comprise sedimentary rocks. The Proterozoic Nuna supercontinent is thought to have hosted a vast fluvial network of Amazonian scale across its interior, ca. 1.6 Ga. Evidence from remnants of this system suggest that sediment was sourced from the Trans-Hudson orogenic uplands and transported across the supercontinent for thousands of kilometres. The Elu basin is one of the lesser-studied remnants of this sedimentary system, providing an opportunity to test the hypothesis of an ancient pancontinental network. Using detrital zircon geochronology, we investigate the source of sediment of fluvial and near-shore marine strata belonging to the Elu basin. We determine that initially material was sourced from local basement rocks, but as the basin developed, the Trans-Hudson Orogen was a contributing source. Our results support and refine the previous hypothesis of an ancient cross-continental drainage system.

🔗 Check out their paper in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences via the link in our bio.

#UBCOResearch #GraduateStudentResearch #EarthSciences #CanadianArctic #CanadianShield by @fos.ubco

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5 days ago

From ceramics to nanotechnology, clay minerals continue to reveal new possibilities.

Join Dr. Karol Kułacz, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Wrocław, Poland, as he discusses how structural modifications to kaolinite and smectite clays influence their dielectric properties and their potential applications in advanced materials research.

📅 Tues., October 13, 2026 | 🕒 12:00 to 1:00 pm
📍 SCI 374 or Virtually

No preregistration required to attend in person. To attend virtually, please email eesc.okanagan@ubc.ca to request the link.

Find out more in the link in bio.

#UBCO #Nanotechnology #FacultyOfScience by @fos.ubco

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6 days ago

Could your organization benefit from a custom AI solution, advanced analytics or a fresh approach to a complex challenge?

Through UBC Okanagan's Master of Data Science Capstone Program, organizations partner with graduate student teams to tackle real-world problems. One recent collaboration with Fujitsu Intelligence explored how generative AI can create high-quality training datasets from technical documents, improving the performance of AI-powered search and retrieval systems.

From AI and machine learning to predictive analytics and data-driven decision-making, MDS Capstone teams help organizations explore innovative solutions while gaining access to emerging talent.

Now accepting Spring 2027 Capstone project proposals. Learn more in @ubcmds link in bio.

#UBCOkanagan #MasterDataScience #AI #GenerativeAI #MachineLearning by @fos.ubco

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6 days ago

“Artificial Catch Bonds: From Molecular Design to Network Mechanics”

Most biomolecular interactions weaken and break under mechanical force. However, some special interactions called "catch bonds" hold on tighter and last longer under moderate tension. In nature, these mechanical behaviours regulate various biological functions like helping white blood cells adhere to blood vessels under rapid flow or giving tissues structural resilience.

In this review, we examine how nature achieves this force-stabilized feature and highlight recent breakthroughs in engineering artificial catch bonds using programmable DNA, proteins, and nanoparticle assemblies. By translating these unique single-molecule mechanisms into macroscopic synthetic networks, researchers can create innovative bulk materials that reinforce and adapt under stress. This work provides a comprehensive overview of current design strategies and connects fundamental catch-bond biophysics with synthetic molecular engineering, guiding the future design of adaptive biomaterials.

🔗 Check out their paper in ChemSystemsChem via the link in our bio.

#UBCOResearch #GraduateStudentResearch #Biophysics #CatchBonds #Chemistry by @fos.ubco

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10 days ago

How do shadows and slices change the center of a shape?

Join Dr. Serhii Myroshnychenko from the University of the Fraser Valley to explore fascinating questions in convex geometry and discover new insights into the mathematics of balance, symmetry and higher-dimensional shapes.

📅 Oct. 13 | 3:30-4:30 pm | 📍 ASC 301 and Zoom
✅ Preregistration required to attend via Zoom

Find out more in our link in bio.

#UBCO #UBCOScience #Mathematics #Geometry #STEM by @fos.ubco

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10 days ago

“The Impact of Ethical Perceptions on Trust in Persuasive Technologies”

Persuasive technologies, from social media and e-commerce platforms to health and fitness apps, are designed to influence our choices and behaviours. But what makes people trust these systems? Our study examines how five ethical factors, autonomy, privacy, transparency, consent and security, shape user trust. Using survey data from 140 participants, we found that autonomy and security were significant predictors of trust, while privacy, transparency, and consent did not show significant effects when all five factors were considered together. These findings suggest that ethical principles may not contribute equally to how users form trust. The study highlights the importance of designing persuasive technologies that preserve users’ freedom of choice and provide meaningful security protections. It also calls for more context-sensitive approaches to ethical design and governance.

🔗 Check out their paper in ACM Journal on Responsible Computing via the link in our bio.

#UBCOResearch #GraduateStudentResearch #ComputerScience #ResponsibleComputing #HumanComputerInteraction by @fos.ubco

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10 days ago