Case Studies and Profiles

Research partnerships with industry can brng a wide variety of benefits for the patrners and for society. Below is a sample of recent UBC-industry research projects.

Pulp Screen Rotors: Reducing Manufacturing Costs and Environmental Impact

A partnership between UBC, government, and the pulp and paper industry has resulted in the development of three high-efficiency pulp screen rotors that produce high-quality product while almost halving energy consumption. More...

CanPREDDICT: Identifying Health Risks for Two Million Canadians

It is estimated that approximately two million Canadians live with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), putting them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, acute kidney injury and other complications associated with the longer-term progression of the disease. CanPREDDICT will analyze a multitude of factors relating to the patients, assessing which underlying biomarkers reflect the processes involved with disease progression. More...

Using Vision to Think

A partnership with The Boeing Company is supporting the work of Visual Analytics researchers at UBC and SFU. Visual Analytics is a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing vast amounts of data that capitalizes on the human ability to understand patterns and relationships visually. More...

Improving Winemaking Processes

WineGen, a project supported by Genome BC, is investigating the genetic phenotypes of grape and yeast varieties associated with different wines, which could lead to optimizing growing conditions, improving efficiency, and ultimately flavour. More...

Tackling Post-Harvest Fruit Decay

The research of Dr. Louise Nelson is concentrating on replacing fungicides and chemical treatments with an organic alternative to reduce or even eliminate pathogens which cause post-harvest decay to fruits such as apples, tomatoes, and berries. More...

Preventing Heart Disease in HIV-Infected Individuals

As treatments for HIV become more successful in preventing AIDS-related disease and death, and the life expectancy of HIV-infected individuals increases, there is also beginning to be a noticeable increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes in people living with HIV. Dr. Greg Bondy, a researcher at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the Providence Heart and Lung Institute, housed at St. Paul's Hospital, and Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is leading a $1.2m research study funded by AstraZeneca Canada Inc. looking at the efficacy of cholesterol-lowering rosuvastatin to reduce the risk of these diseases among this section of the population. This is the first study to look at such an intervention to prevent heart disease, and could have broader implications for the general population.