- H.B.Sc. (University of Toronto)
- Ph.D. (University of Toronto)
- Postdoc (Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital)
Office: LHS D243, 705-748-1011 ext. 7316
Labs: LHS D244/D246, 705-748-1011 ext. 7673/6137
Email: roberthuber@trentu.ca
Research Interests
- Lysosomes
- Intracellular trafficking
- Protein secretion
- Signal transduction
- Molecular networking
- Extracellular matrix
- Neurodegeneration
My lab uses the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as a model system for studying fundamental cellular and developmental processes and how they are impacted in human disease. Our current work examines lysosomal function, protein trafficking and secretion, signal transduction, and the molecular networking of genes and proteins, with a specific focus on how these processes are dysregulated in Batten disease (a form of neurodegeneration that affects all ages and ethnicities but primarily impacts children). Our research also involves translating findings from D. discoideum to human cell models.
Teaching
BIOL 2070H: Cell Biology
BIOL 3080H: Molecular Biology
BIOL 4130H: Human Cell Biology
Selected Publications
Please see the Huber Lab website for a full list of publications.
Huber RJ, Kim WD. (2024). Trafficking of adhesion and aggregation-modulating proteins during the early stages of Dictyostelium development. Cellular Signalling 121, 111292.
Huber RJ, Kim WD, Wilson-Smillie MLDM. (2024). Mechanisms regulating the intracellular trafficking and release of CLN5 and CTSD. Traffic 25, e12925.
Aoki MM, Kisiala AB, Mathavarajah S, Schincaglia A, Treverton J, Habib E, Dellaire G, Emery RJN, Brunetti CR, Huber RJ. (2024). From biosynthesis and beyond – Loss or overexpression of the cytokinin synthesis gene, iptA, alters cytokinesis and mitochondrial and amino acid metabolism in Dictyostelium discoideum. The FASEB Journal 38(1), e23366.
Huber RJ, Gray J, Kim WD. (2023). Loss of mfsd8 alters the secretome during Dictyostelium aggregation. European Journal of Cell Biology 102(4), 151361.
Huber RJ. (2023). Recent insights into the networking of CLN genes and proteins in mammalian cells. Journal of Neurochemistry 165(5), 643-659.
Remtulla AAN, Huber RJ. (2023). The conserved cellular roles of CLN proteins: Novel insights from Dictyostelium discoideum. European Journal of Cell Biology 102(2), 151305.
Kim WD, Huber RJ. (2022). An altered transcriptome underlies cln5-deficiency phenotypes in Dictyostelium discoideum. Frontiers in Genetics 13, 1045738.
O’Day DH, Huber RJ. (2022). Calmodulin binding proteins and neuroinflammation in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. BMC Neuroscience 23, 10.
Kim WD, Mathavarajah S, Huber RJ. (2022). The cellular and developmental roles of cullins, neddylation, and the COP9 signalosome in Dictyostelium discoideum. Frontiers in Physiology 13, 827435.
Huber RJ. (2021). Altered protein secretion in Batten disease. Disease Models & Mechanisms 14(12), dmm049152.
McLaren MD, Mathavarajah S, Kim WD, Yap SQ, Huber RJ. (2021). Aberrant autophagy impacts growth and multicellular development in a Dictyostelium knockout model of CLN5 disease. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 9, 657406.
Mathavarajah S, VanIderstine C, Dellaire G, Huber RJ. (2021). Cancer and the breakdown of multicellularity: What Dictyostelium discoideum, a social amoeba, can teach us. BioEssays 43(4), e2000156.
Huber RJ, Mathavarajah S, Yap SQ. (2020). Mfsd8 localizes to endocytic compartments and influences the secretion of Cln5 and cathepsin D in Dictyostelium. Cellular Signalling 70, 109572.
Huber RJ. (2020). Molecular networking in the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses: insights from mammalian models and the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Journal of Biomedical Science 27(1), 64.
Huber RJ, Mathavarajah S. (2019). Comparative transcriptomics reveals mechanisms underlying cln3-deficiency phenotypes in Dictyostelium. Cellular Signalling 58, 79-90.
Mathavarajah S, McLaren MD, Huber RJ. (2018). Cln3 function is linked to osmoregulation in a Dictyostelium model of Batten disease. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Basis of Disease 1864, 3559-3573.
Huber RJ, Mathavarajah S. (2018). Secretion and function of Cln5 during the early stages of Dictyostelium development. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Cell Research 1865(10), 1437-1450.
Huber RJ, Mathavarajah S. (2018). Cln5 is secreted and functions as a glycoside hydrolase in Dictyostelium. Cellular Signalling 42, 236-248.
Mathavarajah S, Flores A, Huber RJ. (2017). Dictyostelium discoideum: A model system for cell and developmental biology. Current Protocols Essential Laboratory Techniques 15, 14.1.1-14.1.19.
Huber RJ. (2017). Loss of Cln3 impacts protein secretion in the social amoeba Dictyostelium. Cellular Signalling 35, 61-72.
Prospective students
Students interested in joining Dr. Huber's lab are encouraged to submit their CV along with an unofficial transcript to roberthuber@trentu.ca.
