Building Canada’s Living Laboratory
Imagine a state-of-the-art facility that is agile, ever-evolving, and devoid of scientific or academic boundary. Working with partners across UBC, the SBME is building Western Canada’s new hub for transformative Biomedical Engineering education and research.
Canada’s Opportunity
We are at a societal crossroads where Canada can lead the way in providing solutions to the inevitable crises of an aging population and healthcare accessibility in a world where problems have no borders.
The need for a purpose-designed, state-of-the-art facility that can support students and faculty, cutting-edge research, educational and industrial innovation, and entrepreneurial exploration is undeniable.
So we’re building one.
UBC’s Opportunity
UBC’s SBME is fast becoming one of the places to watch for the next wave of technologies that will transform medicine, and with the robust and growing MedTech community in British Columbia’s lower mainland, a central hub for educational and scientific advancement is key.
From molecular engineering to multi-scale systems biology, from point-of-care diagnostics to devices that “read and write” into our bodies to help us walk, think, and see better, the new SBME building will be Canada’s living laboratory for biomedical engineering, providing cutting-edge collaborative and experiential spaces for students, faculty, and industry.
A Blueprint for the Future of Medicine
In every aspect and detail of its architectural structure, the new SBME building will reflect the flexible, ever-shifting nature of medical innovation itself. Makerspaces and “wet” and “dry” laboratories will be built on a grid; walls will be movable and lab benches realigned according to the demands of a given medical challenge. And as a new home for industry, academia, and hospital partners, shared spaces will be designed for collision, connectivity and collaboration between all stakeholders from student to entrepreneur to clinician.
Biology, medicine and engineering can all be reshaped at once. Their possibilities and variations rendered accessible not just to students and researchers, but also to communities that have struggled to receive the benefits of advancements in health technologies.
The new SBME building will make this possible while providing students and faculty the experience of a unique, educational world without technological or scientific boundary. One limited only by the breadth of their curiosity and imagination.
Diseases don’t recognize the academic borders between medicine, biology, and engineering.
We shouldn’t either.
Want to Learn More?
We’re excited about where we’re going, and we want to share it. Feel free to get in touch with your questions at reception@sbme.ubc.ca.
Want to be a part of it? Get started over on our giving page.