UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences

What UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences does

The UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences (CPS) is an academic department within the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine, located at the Point Grey campus in Vancouver. The department comprises 35+ faculty members and serves undergraduate, graduate, medical, dental, and postdoctoral trainees through the CAPS Majors and Honours program, multidisciplinary graduate programs in Cell and Developmental Biology, Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, and Genome Science and Technology, and UBC's medical and dental curricula. Faculty produced 129 publications in 2023 and secured $24M+ in competitive research funding for 2023-2024, with research spanning cellular and physiological mechanisms of health and disease using advanced techniques including custom-built dSTORM super-resolution microscopy, electron tomography, and live cell fluorescence microscopy.

The department's research and teaching portfolio is anchored by the Body Donation Program, which has operated continuously since 1950 and supports training of 1,000+ healthcare professionals annually through anatomical education, surgical training, and medical research. Digital educational assets include the Virtual Histology Slide Collection (hosted via the Canada Pathology Network), the Clinical Anatomy and Neuroanatomy websites, and the annual Heartfelt Images cardiac art contest. The department runs the D. Harold Copp Lecture (established 1996) and a recurring Departmental Seminar Series that bring international researchers to UBC. Its go-to-market is community-led: recruitment flows through UBC's central admissions processes for students, competitive grant applications (primarily NSERC Discovery Grants) for research funding, and direct outreach for body donation enrollment.

Because CPS is a non-independent academic unit within a public university, it has no direct revenue figure or pricing structure. Funding mechanics combine competitive research grants (the dominant external revenue signal at $24M+ in 2023-2024), UBC Faculty of Medicine budget allocations, student tuition administered centrally, and donations to the Anatomical Sciences Research Endowment. The department is led by Department Head Calvin Roskelley following Dr. Edwin Moore's 2018-2025 tenure, with Zaira Khan as Director of Administration overseeing a finance, HR, and IT support team.

Name

UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences

Legal name

Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Website

https://cps.med.ubc.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences is an academic unit within UBC's Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, comprising 35+ faculty who deliver undergraduate, graduate, and medical education and conduct cellular and physiological research backed by $24M+ in annual competitive grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Medical Research & Education

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAGAI

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Medical & Health Sciences Universities

SECONDARYEDAHAAAC

Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

Keywords

• Medical research education
• Anatomical sciences training
• Cellular biology research
• Physiological sciences programs
• Graduate medical education

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Primary funding from competitive research grants including NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) Discovery Grants, with $24M+ in competitive funding for 2023-2024
2. Body Donation Program: Program accepts financial contributions via Anatomical Sciences Research Endowment; covers cremation and transportation costs ($1,000) for donors; cost-recovery basis for anatomical material access
3. Tuition and University Allocations: Operating funding through UBC Faculty of Medicine budget allocations and student tuition revenues

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

An academic department within the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine that conducts fundamental biomedical research on cellular, molecular, and physiological mechanisms of health and disease, and delivers undergraduate majors/honours, MSc/PhD graduate, and medical/dental teaching programs. It supports these activities with advanced imaging and tissue-culture infrastructure, a Body Donation Program for anatomy teaching, and curated online learning resources in clinical anatomy, neuroanatomy, and histology.

Product overview

The UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences offers a portfolio of educational services including undergraduate and graduate programs in Cell and Developmental Biology, Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, and Genome Science and Technology. The department operates the Body Donation Program (since 1950) providing anatomical specimens for medical training, along with digital educational resources including the Clinical Anatomy Website, Neuroanatomy Website, and Virtual Histology Slide Collection hosted on the Canada Pathology Network. Additional offerings include the D. Harold Copp Lecture Series (annual distinguished lecture since 1996), the Departmental Seminar Series featuring internal and external research presentations, and the Heartfelt Images annual art contest. The department serves the Faculty of Medicine with 35+ faculty members and supports over 1,000 learners annually through various programs and anatomical education initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Anatomy Website Department-hosted online resource providing clinical anatomy content for UBC medical, dental, and allied-health learners studying gross anatomy.
• Neuroanatomy Website Online neuroanatomy resource used by students and educators for self-directed study of the structure and function of the nervous system.
• Virtual Histology Slide Collection Department-maintained collection of digitized histology slides that students access remotely to study tissue microanatomy alongside in-person laboratory sessions.
• UBC Body Donation Program Program through which British Columbia residents donate their bodies after death to support cadaveric anatomy teaching and research for UBC medical, dental, and allied-health learners.
• D. Harold Copp Lecture Series Departmental named lecture series honouring D. Harold Copp and featuring invited speakers for the UBC physiology community.
• Departmental Seminar Series Recurring seminar programme hosted by the department where trainees and external researchers present current cellular and physiological science research.
• Heartfelt Images Art Contest Outreach art-science contest celebrating images produced through departmental cellular imaging research, open to participants and shared publicly.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35+ faculty members producing 129 publications in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alternatives Funeral and Cremation ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1950Contracted funeral home partner for the Body Donation Program, issuing Death Certificates for all accepted donors and providing cremation services. This is an essential operational partnership for the dignified handling of donated bodies.
• Vancouver General Hospital Simulation CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffsite location where donated bodies may be used for surgical training and research purposes, extending the reach of anatomical education beyond the main campus.
• Centre for Hip Health and MobilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for anatomical education and research using donated bodies for orthopaedic and mobility-related studies.
• Jack BellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffsite location partner for anatomical education and research activities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Visible Body: Commercial 3D anatomy and virtual histology education platform serving medical and dental students — comparable on Virtual Histology/digital slide resources but operates as a private software vendor rather than an academic department.
• BioDigital: Cloud-based interactive 3D anatomy and physiology learning platform; partial overlap with the department's Clinical Anatomy Website and Virtual Histology products in delivering digital medical-education content.

Regional players

• Canada Pathology Network: Canadian pathology digital-slide hosting platform that the department already uses to distribute its Virtual Histology Slide Collection — directly comparable infrastructure partner for digital anatomy education in Canada.

Broad incumbents

• Stanford University - Department of Cell Biology: Larger, well-endowed university-based cell biology research department; broader scope and richer funding base but analogous mandate of basic mechanistic biomedical research, graduate training, and high-impact publication output.
• Harvard Medical School - Department of Cell Biology: Top-tier medical-school cell biology department with extensive super-resolution microscopy infrastructure and landmark biomedical publications — comparable on research techniques (dSTORM, electron tomography) and translational ambition.
• Johns Hopkins University - Department of Cell Biology: Established U.S. university-based cell biology department with medical-school integration, advanced imaging capability, and large-scale graduate programs — relevant incumbent for benchmarking research output and funding scale.

Direct peers

• University of Calgary - Department of Physiology and Pharmacology: Western-Canadian university physiology/pharmacology research and teaching unit with similar tri-council funding mix and medical-school integration — comparable peer for faculty recruitment and grant competition.
• University of Toronto - Department of Physiology: Closest Canadian peer — a university-based biomedical sciences & physiology research department within a medical faculty, delivering graduate training, anatomy teaching, and externally-funded basic research at scale. Highly comparable on mandate, funding mix, and educational channels.
• McGill University - Department of Physiology: Canadian public-research-university physiology department offering graduate research training in cellular and molecular physiology with strong tri-council funding — closely comparable in mandate, scale, and training audience.

Others

• Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services: Contracted funeral-services partner for the Body Donation Program since 1950, providing Death Certificates and cremation services — adjacent ecosystem partner enabling the department's anatomical-training operations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ubc-department-of-cellular-physiological-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences