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MaST3

A forward-thinking program focusing on teamwork and adaptability training for students in mass spectrometry

About Us

The Mass Spectrometry Team Training and Transition (MaST3) Program is a forward-thinking initiative designed to enhance graduate training in mass spectrometry (MS) through a team-based and interdisciplinary approach. The program received a 6-year funding from NSERC/CREAT in addition to support from several universities, research institutes, and hospitals across British Columbia (BC). The core mission of MaST3 is to equip graduate students with advanced technical proficiency in MS and essential professional skills for careers in biotechnology, academia and the public sector.

NEWS

On October 24th, MaST3 hosted a breakfast with Ruedi Aebersold one of the father of modern proteomics, before the 75th Annual Biochemistry Symposium. It was a great opportunity for our trainees (and few of our Faculty) to ask questions and discuss where are the next frontiers in our field.

Program

MaST3 aims to equip students with advanced MS expertise alongside job-ready, transferable skills, with a strong emphasis on teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration.

A cornerstone of MaST3 is its collaborative, problem-solving model: graduate students from diverse backgrounds will come together—away from their home institutions—to work on a team project focused on developing novel MS applications. The program promotes mobility and cross-pollination of ideas within BC’s vibrant MS research ecosystem.MaST3 also places strong emphasis on outreach to underrepresented groups in STEM and engagement with the private sector through networking events and industry-focused activities. While selected trainees will receive a short-term scholarship of $20,000 during the team project period at host labs, all applicants will benefit from continuous support throughout their graduate studies. This includes mentorship, hands-on workshops, lab visits, industry seminars, networking opportunities, and more—designed to help students grow into highly skilled professionals with adaptable career paths.

Overall, MaST3represents a pioneering initiative to reshape graduate training in mass spectrometry—preparing students for impactful careers in both academia and industry, while fostering collaboration and innovation across BC.

Region	Initial Incubator Space

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Vancouver General Hospital (Breathomics)
BC Children’s Hospital (High-throughput Sampling)
St. Paul’s Hospital (Clinical Chemistry)
UBC Okanagan (Plant Signaling)

Lower Mainland

Chemistry (Computational MS)
Michael Smith Labs (Single-cell proteomics)
Land & Food Systems (Food & Safety)
Life Sciences Institute (Metabolomics)

UBC Point Grey

Simon Fraser University

SFU (Post-translational modifications)

University of Victoria (Metabolomics)
Vancouver Island University (Opioids & Environmental Sciences)
BC Cancer Victoria (Immunoengineering)
Genome BC Proteomic Centre (Tissue Imaging)

Vancouver Island

MaST3 redefines graduate training by integrating team-based learning into the curriculum, moving beyond traditional, siloed thesis projects. The program is structured in three phases:

Phase 1

Mentorship: Each enrolled student is assigned a faculty and senior trainee mentor to guide their curriculum and career development.
Lab Visits: Students visit two MaST3 labs (2-5 days each) to learn diverse techniques, present their work, and network with host labs.
Technical Workshops: Annual hybrid workshops cover advanced applications, instrument design, experimental design of MS for proteomics/metabolomics, and data analysis, led by senior trainees and external experts.
Professional Skills: Training modules focus on teamwork, leadership, communication, and EDI, developed in collaboration with the UBC Sauder School and Entrepreneurship@UBC.
Annual Symposium: A trainee pre-meeting with presentations, hackathon-like sessions for Phase 2 project development, and EDI-focused discussions will be integrated into our annual BCPN Symposium

Phase 2

Project development: Projects are initiated through hackathon-like sessions, guided by principal investigators, and supported by MaST3 scholarships.
Team project: Students form interdisciplinary teams of 2-4 to work on capstone projects at incubator spaces (host labs) outside their home campus for 2-4 months. MaSt3 program covers necessary travel and accommodation costs.
Teamwork outcome: Project outcomes could contribute to research excellence, including publications and theses, thereby enhancing job market readiness.
Team-based outreach: A built-in EDI educational element involves having program trainees participate in scientific outreach events designed for youth and underrepresented groups, such as indigenous students.

Phase 3

This phase reinforces learning, fosters leadership, and promotes knowledge sharing within the MaST3 community.
Teaching workshops: Senior trainees teach both technical and professional skills workshops independently or in teams.
Mentorship: Senior trainees mentor new students recruited in Phases 1 & 2.
Work presentation and networking: Trainees who completed Phase 2 present their project outcomes at the annual BCPN symposium.
The program also supports senior trainees in attending other relevant conferences, such as CNPN and the Post-ASMS Symposium.

For Perspective Students

Interested in Graduate Studies Involving Mass Spectrometry?

Are you planning to pursue graduate studies and use mass spectrometry in your research? The MaST3 program provides comprehensive support for new students, including mentorship, skills workshops, networking opportunities, and scholarships to complete short team-based projects. Our program focuses on enhancing your graduate experience and preparing you for diverse career paths, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and teamwork.

How to Apply
Prospective students should first contact potential supervisors within our network (listed below) and apply to their affiliated graduate program. Once you have joined a research lab and been accepted into a graduate program, you can apply to MaST3 using the form below.

MaST3-associated research laboratories

The Burke Lab The Lum Lab

The Castellarin Lab The Mayor Lab

The Chen Lab The Measday Lab

The Cohen Freue Lab The Morin Lab

The DeMarco Lab The Murch Lab

The Foster Lab The Myers Lab

The Gill Lab The Overall Lab

The Goodlett Lab The Parker Lab

The Hill Lab The Peter Lab

The Huan Lab The Soma Lab

The King Lab The Sun Lab

The Lamers Lab The Velenosi Lab

The Lange Lab The Vu Lab

The Linington Lab

For Graduate Students

More senior students are also welcome to join the program to participate in selected activities, provide mentorship, or help lead some of our workshops. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Please email your application and other required documents to nancy.fang@ubc.ca

Activites

Activities

Discover workshops and activities MaST3 offers and MS symposiums, conferences, and seminars

Workshops on technical skills

Workshops/activities on professional skills

Symposiums and other activities

Outreach activity for 2026 Science Rendezvous - team project design and planning day

When: Feb 17th, 2026 10:00am-3:00pm

Where: Michael Smith Laboratories Rm 101

2026 BCPM Symposium

When: April 27th - 28th, 2026

Where: BC Children's Hospital Research Institute

2026 Science Rendezvous

When: May 2026

Where: UBC

Development and Application of Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Separations for Metabolomics. Dr. Ryland Giebelhaus from the University of Victoria offered a seminar on comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography (GC x GC or LC x LC) for the separation of analytes along two unique stationary phases on November 26th, 2025 from 3:30pm - 4:30pm at UBC CHEM-D200 and on Zoom.

MS workshop series: Dr. Huan Tao from the Department of Chemistry at UBC offers a hybrid workshop series "Modern MS for Biological and Environmental Research" every Friday from September- November 2025 at UBC Chemistry Building, room D215 or over Zoom.

Workshop on team-building: Professor Jonathan Evans from UBC Sauder School of Business offered to the MaST3 trainees a full-day, in-person workshop on Essential skills and abilities to excel in team-working environments. The workshop was held on October 16th, 2025, from 8am-4:30pm at UBC Life Science Institute Faculty Lounge.

Dissect Biological Interactions - From Molecular to Cellular Levels: Invited by Dr. Tao Huan, Dr. Liang Zhang from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at City University of Hong Kong gave a hybrid talk on November 7th, 2025 from 2-3pm, at UBC Chemistry Building room D300 and over zoom.

VAMS-PPI workshop: In collaboration with MaST3, VAMS offered a workshop on interactome analysis of MS data. It was held at the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre, room DHCC 1-020 on October 8th, 2025 6pm-8pm.

Mentorship workshop: In collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC, MaST3 offered a workshop on mentorship in research labs on August 27th, 2025 from 11:30am-1pm.

Contact Us

Contact

2185 East Mall,

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

MaST3

About Us

Director

Program Coordinator

Associate Directors

Team Organizing Committee

Academic Organizing Committee