Robert J. Huber

• 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

Huber Lab Website

Research Interests

• Dictyostelium discoideum
• Batten disease (neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis)
• Signal transduction
• Protein secretion
• Extracellular matrix
• Calcium and calmodulin
• Cyclin-dependent kinases

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. Current research in my lab is focussed on studying how ingested material is broken down by cells and how this process is dysregulated in Batten disease (a form of neurodegeneration that affects all ages and ethnicities but primarily impacts children). My lab also uses D. discoideum as a model system for studying proteins within the extracellular matrix that modulate cell motility and differentiation, identifying the roles of calcium and calmodulin in regulating conserved cellular and developmental processes, and studying the functions of cyclin-dependent kinases in the cell cycle.

Teaching

BIOL 2070H: Cell Biology

BIOL 3080H: Molecular Biology

BIOL 4130H: Human Cell Biology

Selected Publications

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.

Kim WD, Wilson-Smillie MLDM, Thanabalasingam A, Lefrancois S, Cotman SL, Huber RJ. (2022). Autophagy in the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (Batten disease). Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 10, 812728.

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.

Yap SQ, Mathavarajah S, Huber RJ. (2021). The converging roles of Batten disease proteins in neurodegeneration and cancer. iScience 24(4), 102337.

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.

Kim WD, Yap SQ, Huber RJ. (2021). A proteomics analysis of calmodulin-binding proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum during the transition from unicellular growth to multicellular development. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22(4), 1722.

Aoki MM, Emery RJN, Anjard C, Brunetti CR, Huber RJ. (2020). Cytokinins in Dictyostelia – A unique model for studying the functions of signaling agents from species to kingdoms. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 8, 511.

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.

O’Day DH, Mathavarajah S, Myre MA, Huber RJ. (2020). Calmodulin-mediated events during the life cycle of the amoebozoan Dictyostelium discoideum. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 95(2), 472-490.

Huber RJ, Mathavarajah S. (2019). Comparative transcriptomics reveals mechanisms underlying cln3-deficiency phenotypes in Dictyostelium. Cellular Signalling 58, 79-90.

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, O’Day DH. (2017). Extracellular matrix dynamics and functions in the social amoeba Dictyostelium: A critical review. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta General Subjects 1861(1), 2971-2980.

Huber RJ. (2016). Using the social amoeba Dictyostelium to study the functions of proteins linked to neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. Journal of Biomedical Science 23(1), 83.

Huber RJ, O’Day DH. (2015). Proteomic profiling of the extracellular matrix (slime sheath) of Dictyostelium discoideum. Proteomics 15(19), 3315-3319.

Huber RJ. (2014). The cyclin-dependent kinase family in the social amoebozoan Dictyostelium discoideum. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 71(4), 629-639.

Huber RJ, O’Day DH. (2012). A matricellular protein and EGF-like repeat signalling in the social amoebozoan Dictyostelium discoideum. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 69(23), 3989–3997.

Prospective students

Students interested in contributing to the research in the lab should submit an updated CV along with an unofficial transcript to Dr. Huber via email: roberthuber@trentu.ca