- 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
- Neurodegeneration
- Extracellular matrix
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 diseases. Currently, we are studying the functions of lysosomes and the trafficking of lysosomal enzymes, with a specific focus on how lysosomal-related processes are dysregulated in Batten disease, which is 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
Cell biology, Molecular biology, Biomedical science
Selected Publications
Please see the Huber Lab website for a full list of publications.
Kim WD, Owiar SA, Pyne CH, Lefrançois S, Huber RJ. (2026). CLN5 disease-causing mutations impact lysosomal biology by affecting intracellular degradation and protein trafficking. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Basis of Disease 1872(6), 168273.
Huber RJ, Steimle PA, Damer CK. (2025). Cell biology of Dictyostelium. BMC Molecular and Cell Biology 26, 25.
Mathavarajah S, Chipurupalli S, Habib EB, Kim WD, Aoki MM, Corkery DP, Whelan KIT, Lukacs J, Erkan M, Martinez VD, Smith KS, Montgomery SB, Salsman J, Huber RJ, Dellaire G. (2025). The evolutionarily conserved PRP4K-CHMP4B/vps32 splicing circuit regulates autophagy. Cell Reports 44(7), 115870.
Condie SV, Kim WD, Huber RJ. (2025). Lysosomal enzyme processing and trafficking in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Biochemistry and Cell Biology 103, 1-11.
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.
Kim WD, Huber RJ. (2022). An altered transcriptome underlies cln5-deficiency phenotypes in Dictyostelium discoideum. Frontiers in Genetics 13, 1045738.
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(11), 3559-3573.
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.
