Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC)

About the conference

The Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC) is a conference for UBC undergraduate students to present their research with fellow UBC students, family, and friends.

Since 2003, the conference has been led by undergraduate students and is centred on showcasing and celebrating undergraduate student research through presentations, workshops, and keynote speakers.

MURC is free to attend and open to the UBC community. Other students, including graduate students, can support the conference as volunteers or adjudicators.

MURC Planning Committee

The MURC 2025 Planning Committee Applications have closed. The MURC 2026 Planning Committee Applications will open in late June or early July.

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Register to attend MURC

Delegate registration for MURC 2025 will open in Mar 2025.

Presenting at the conference

If you’re a UBC undergraduate student and you’re currently participating in or have completed your own UBC faculty-supervised research project, consider presenting at MURC. Students from all faculties and programs are welcome to apply.

Applications for MURC 2025 are now open until Jan 12, 2025.

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Volunteer at MURC

MURC volunteers are important to the success of the conference. At the event, volunteers can network with other student leaders and researchers on campus and learn about the research being conducted by their peers.

Help out with the conference or sign up to be an adjudicator for the conference presentations.

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Past conference information

MURC 2024

In 2024, MURC had:

450 presenters
312 unique presentations
Over 450 attendees
Over 85 volunteers

2024 MURC Journal publication

In 2023, MURC conference abstracts were published in the Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Research (CJUR). MURC is excited to partner again for MURC 2024 for another special publication in CJUR. This journal is a student-led, peer-reviewed publication for Canadian undergraduate research. CJUR will publish a special edition in collaboration with MURC 2024 to promote accessible undergraduate research initiatives. Check back soon for the publication.

2024 MURC winners

Oral presentation (in-person)

First Place (Winner of MURC x Rogers Top Oral Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
The Role of the Dorsal Hippocampus in Probabilistic Reversal Learning
Presented by Si-ah Choi
Second Place
Metabolic Adaptations and Mitochondrial Fuel Dynamics in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar): A Comparative Study of Muscle Physiology During Freshwater to Seawater Transition
Presented by Kiarash Bahari
Third Place
Analyzing the effects of different synthesis and processing methods on circular RNA protein expression and impurity removal: a comparative study;
Presented by Steve Wang

Poster presentation (in-person)

First Place (Winners of MURC x Rogers Top Poster Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
- The Biomarker Potential of Neurofilament Light and Heavy in Preclinical Models of Multiple Sclerosis
  Presented by Nicola Wray
Second Place (2 winners)
- Effect of Pitch-altered Background Music on Cantonese Tone Production
  Presented by Wilfred Tang
Third Place (2 winners)
- Analyzing the Impact of Noise Pollution on Marine Invertebrates: Investigating Noise Tolerance in the Shore Crab Hemigrapsus oregonensis
  Presented by Abby Birch
- Modeling the impact of enforcement actions against industrial facilities on air quality and environmental justice in Canada
  Presented by Nika Martinussen

Virtual presentation

First Place (Winner of MURC x Rogers Top Virtual Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
Dining Democracy: Resident Councils’ Influence on Food Issues in Long-Term Care
Presented by Isabel Huang
Second Place
Motor adaptation in response to different error signals
Presented by Davin Hu
Third Place
mga: User-friendly R package for microbial genetic analysis for amplicon data
Presented by Erika Lin

REX Awards (Undergraduate Research Opportunities)

MURC partnered with the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) this year. Their generous support enabled $100 gift card award in each category.

Oral Presentation
Evaluating Riffusion: Advancements in Diffusion-Based Music Generation
Presented by Sami Nourji
Poster Presentation
Investigating the Influence of Various Receptor Organizations on Filamentous Influenza A Motility Under the Presence of Antibodies
Presented by Marusia Shevchuk
Virtual Presentation
Navigating Nepal’s Independence and Sovereignty
Presented by Dipansha Tokas

If you have questions

For more information about the conference, email undergraduate.research@ubc.ca.

Conference sponsor

The 2024 MURC Conference was sponsored by Rogers Communications.