The Faculty of Medicine was established in 1950 in Vancouver, taking in 60 medical students under the leadership of its first dean, Myron Weaver. The size of its incoming medical classes was increased to 80 students in 1974, 120 students in 1980, and 128 students in 2000. Starting in 2004, the medical program began that more than doubled enrollment and distributed medical education and training at campuses, hospitals and clinics throughout the province. The size of incoming medical classes grew to 288, with one-third of those students spending most of their four years at one of three distributed sites in northern British Columbia, the B.C. Interior or Vancouver Island. The size and geographic scope of the Faculty of Medicine's 71 medical residency programs also grew correspondingly. Since its founding, the Faculty has added other educational programs, including physical therapy, occupational science and occupational therapy, audiology and speech sciences, midwifery, and population and public health.
Research
Most research by the UBC Faculty of Medicine is conducted under the auspices of six institutes and 15 centres that are part of UBC or affiliated with it. Some researchers are based at UBC's Vancouver campus, though many work in the Faculty of Medicine's affiliated hospitals, especially in Vancouver: Vancouver General Hospital, the BC Cancer Agency, St. Paul's Hospital, BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre and BC Children's Hospital. In the 2015-16 fiscal year, the Faculty of Medicine took in $353 million in research funding, from government, industry, foundations and non-profit organizations and other sources. Members of the Faculty of Medicine are responsible for 132 patents issued or filed, and the creation of six spin-off companies. The Faculty of Medicine has more than 300 postdoctoral fellows and almost 600 PhD students. The Faculty of Medicine had one Nobel laureate, Professor of Biochemistry Michael Smith, who received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis. Smith also received the Canada Gairdner International Award in 1986. Two members of the Faculty have received the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award: James C. Hogg and Michael Hayden. Julio Montaner has received several awards for demonstrating the effectiveness of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in the treatment of HIV infection, and championing the "Treatment as Prevention" strategy for controlling the spread of the disease.
