Creative, supportive, resourced, and empowered. Home to more than 300 researchers, the Michael Smith Laboratories combines biology and technology to discover innovative solutions to society’s most important problems.
We work in diverse clusters of interdisciplinary researchers from the faculties of Science, Medicine, Applied Science, Forestry, and Land and Food Systems to address society’s most pressing health and environmental needs.
Local, national, and international awards including a Nobel Prize and seven Royal Society of Canada Fellows.
Interdisciplinary researchers from the faculties of Science, Medicine, Applied Science, Forestry, and Land and Food Systems.
Including top-tiered journals such as Science, The Plant Journal, Cell, Genetics, Nature Biotech, Blood, PNAS, and more.
The Michael Smith Laboratories uses donations to fund the next generation of Canadian life sciences leaders. Contributions support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in their research and helps fund the educational outreach programs through the Michael Smith Laboratories’ Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory.
These gifts inspire and enable the brightest minds to excel, support our impact on Canadian health and welfare, and allows the Michael Smith Laboratories to connect to BC communities through science.
Last month, together with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Sue Biggins from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to UBC.
She delivered the 2024 Michael Smith Distinguished Lecture, speaking about her work studying kinetochores and cell division.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the talk, and to the team that made this event a success!
@ubcmedicine
@ubcscience
Research from the Gsponer lab published in PNAS today focuses on the AlphaFold-Multimer platform, a platform recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2024.
This new paper evaluates and provides guidance for using the platform to predict binding interactions of intrinsically disordered protein regions.
Read the full study at the link in our bio under Pubs: Protein Structure & Function
@ubcmedicine
@ubcscience
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a rare genetic disease that causes progressive muscle weakness in the face, shoulders, and arms.
The Hirst Lab is using epigenomic techniques to investigate the role of epigenetic regulation in the development of this disease.
Learn more about their study at the link in our bio.
@ubcscience
@ubcmbim
We`d like to extend a big congratulations to Hirst lab member Jing Yun Alice Zhu for her successful PhD defence! 🎉🔬
Thesis title: Epigenetic determinants in T-cell differentiation and transformation
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We are excited to welcome Dr. Sue Biggins on October 18 to deliver the 2024 Michael Smith Distinguished Lecture!
Join us to hear Dr. Biggins` talk titled: How do cells inherit the right chromosomes?
October 18, 3-4pm
Hybrid lecture: LSC3 & Zoom
Co-hosted by the UBC Department of Biochemistry and the Michael Smith Labs
Event details & registration link in our bio.
Edit: Please note there has been a change in venue, and the lecture is now taking place in LSC3.
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@sbme_ubc
What’s your favourite cannabis scent? Earthy, fruity, or something else?
The Bohlmann lab’s new project with @genomebc and @aurora.medical is on a mission to sniff out the genomic secrets behind cannabis aromas 👃🧬. Researchers are using genomics to understand the genetic factors responsible for specific, desirable aromas.
@ubcscience @ubcforestry #Cannabis #Genomics #Science #Research #CannabisCulture #CannabisSociety
A fun fact about the MSL building, as we celebrate 20 years since its opening - the DNA helix displayed on our windows is taken directly from Dr. Michael Smith’s Nobel prize-winning paper!
In his research, he made a site-directed mutation, substituting one base for another – can you spot the mismatched pair? 🧬
Check out our stories for help spotting the mutation, and visit the link in our bio to learn more about the DNA helix and the history of our building.
The Michael Smith Laboratories building first opened 20 years ago today, providing a home for Canada’s first interdisciplinary biotechnology unit as envisioned by Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Smith.
Today we celebrate Dr. Smith’s legacy and how it has fueled growth and research excellence at the MSL.
Visit the link in our bio to learn more about the history of our unit and building.
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1️⃣ The Michael Smith Laboratories
2️⃣ MSL Atrium, under construction – July 2002
3️⃣ MSL Atrium, Opening Day – September 2004
4️⃣ MSL Atrium, today – September 2024
We`re excited to share that Dr. Leonard Foster has been awarded a nearly $4.5 million grant through the NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative! 🥳
Learn more about Dr. Foster’s project focused on honey bee sustainability at the link in our bio.
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We are excited to share that Dr. Xin Tang is joining the MSL as an Assistant Professor, holding a joint appointment with @ubc_cp_sc 🎉💻
Dr. Tang has a background in computational cell biology, focusing his research on the integration of #AI with single-cell biology to uncover the secrets of individual cells.
He looks forward to setting up his lab, fostering new collaborations, and exploring Vancouver as he settles in this month.
“I`m also excited about the opportunity to mentor the next generation of computational biologists in an inclusive and collaborative research environment.”
Learn more about Dr. Tang’s lab and work at the link in our bio.
@ubcscience
Dr. Jim Kronstad and his lab are working hard to uncover weaknesses of C. neoformans, which is the fungal cause of cryptococcosis, hoping to open doors for drug and vaccine development.
In the past year they have published six different research papers on the subject, maintaining this focus since the World Health Organization designated the fungus as a ‘fungal pathogen of critical importance’.
Learn more about what the lab has discovered so far at the link in our bio.
@ubcmbim
@ubclfs
@ubcscience
Congratulations to Marie Johns and Karol Buda, the 2023-24 recipients of the William and Dorothy Gilbert Scholarship in Biomedical Sciences!
This award was established in 1995 in honour of William and Dorothy Gilbert, and is awarded annually to recognize the exceptional accomplishments of doctoral students at the MSL.
Johns, a member of the Jefferies lab, is studying Alzheimer’s disease with the hope of identifying new targets for drug therapies.
Buda, a member of the Tokuriki lab, is studying protein evolution and epistasis (interactions between mutations), with the goal of defining these processes so they can be engineered to our advantage in the future.
You can learn more about the recipients, and their research, at the link in our bio.
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#biochemistry
A new publication in Nature from the Withers lab, led by graduate student Seyed Amir Nasseri, is a reminder that there are always new discoveries to be made in science 🔬.
Learn about their discovery of a new bacterial pathway for carbohydrate breakdown at the link in our bio.
@ubcchem @ubcscience
Four MSL faculty are involved in research projects recently funded through the CIHR spring project grants.
Congratulations Drs. Peter Zandstra, Harry Brumer, Leonard Foster and Wilfred Jefferies! 🥳
Learn more about the projects and funding program at the link in our bio.
We had a great time at our summer BBQ social earlier this month! The MSL Social Committee invited everyone to the beach to soak up the nice weather with some food, games and good company 🍔⚽
Thanks to everyone who helped organize the event, and everyone who joined us!
Through the Gemma database, the lab of bioinformatician Dr. Paul Pavlidis has harmonized thousands of transcriptomic data sets - making the data not just open, but also more reusable.
Visit the link in our bio to learn more from our Q&A with Dr. Pavlidis.
📸 Emily Cooke
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@dmcbrainhealth
Congratulations to MSL and Department of #Biochemistry & Molecular Biology faculty member Dr. Jörg Gsponer for receiving an #NFRF Exploration grant! 🥳
Learn more about his cross-disciplinary project at the link in our bio.
#CRCC
@UBCmedicine
@ubcscience
The annual MSL #HieterLab ping pong tournament came to a close after our May seminar with an epic final matchup of Li lab member Weijie vs Finlay lab member Deng 🏓
Congratulations to Weijie (left) for taking home the title of 2024 MSL ping pong champion! 🏆
A big thanks to the Hieter lab for organizing the tournament, and to everyone who participated and came out to watch.
We`re excited to be welcoming two guests from Amgen next week for a biotechnology industry seminar!
Join us on Wednesday, May 29 at 3pm to hear valuable insights from our guests` professional pathways.
The seminar will be presented in a hybrid format, so please join us in person in MSL 102 or through Zoom.
Event details and Zoom registration can be found at the link in our bio.
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Join us next week for a seminar with invited speaker Dr. Warren Chan, who will speak about `Nanoparticle delivery to solid tumours`.
May 15: 3-4pm
MSL lecture theatre (room 102) & Zoom
Hosted by: @dr.blakney
For more information, visit the link in our bio.
@ubcscience
@sbme_ubc
@ubcpharmsci
Alongside @UBCbiochemistry, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. @SueBiggins from @FredHutch to deliver the 2024 Michael Smith Distinguished Lecture!
It was great to learn more about her work studying kinetochores and cell division.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us!
Recently published: Single-cell approaches define two groups of mammalian oligodendrocyte precursor cells and their evolution over developmental time #scRNAseq #stemcells
https://ow.ly/Tm9R50TTnEn
@UofTIMS @SickKidsNews @ubcmsl @MoGen_Grad @MartinPeraJAX @ISSCR @CellPressNews
Research from @ubcmsl and @SBME_UBC has been featured on this week's episode of the @ImmunoPodcast!
🎧 Listen to the Immunology Podcast round-up to hear them discuss the work from the @PZandstra, @mklevings, and Rossi Labs: https://bit.ly/4hhi0BN
Research by @UBC team on bacterium common in gut of people who eat a plant-rich diet could lead to development of helpful probiotics https://bit.ly/3C6QmqV
@mslubc @UBCBotany @UBCbiochemistry @UBCChem @ubcmsl @SSRLnews @BrumerLab @ubcchem
#guthealth #probiotics
Research from the #GsponerLab published in @PNASNews today focuses on the AlphaFold-Multimer platform, a platform recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2024.
This new paper evaluates and provides guidance for using the platform to predict binding interactions of…
The #HirstLab is investigating the underlying epigenetic mechanisms of FSHD, a rare type of muscular dystrophy that is difficult to cure.
Learn more about their study: https://bit.ly/Epigenomics_FSHD
@ubcscience @UBCMicroImmuno
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