- About
- People
- Faculty
- Tim Audas
- Christopher Beh
- Lorena Braid
- Fiona S.L. Brinkman
- Mark Brockman
- Jack Chen
- Jonathan Choy
- Lisa Craig
- Sharon Gorski
- Nicholas Harden
- Nancy Hawkins
- Robert Holt
- William Hsiao
- Valentin Jaumouillé
- Dustin King
- Irina Kovalyova
- Mani Larijani
- Amy Lee
- Michel Leroux
- Ryan Morin
- Ingrid Northwood
- Mark Paetzel
- Frederic Pio
- Lynne Quarmby
- Sophie Sneddon
- Jenifer Thewalt
- Glen Tibbits
- Peter Unrau
- Esther Verheyen
- Stephanie Vlachos
- David Vocadlo
- Edgar Young
- Emeritus Faculty
- Associate Members
- Adjunct Faculty
- Research Personnel
- Graduate & Postdocs
- Staff
- Department Committees
- Faculty
- Undergraduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Advising
- Courses
- Course Offerings
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1231)
- Fall (1227)
- Summer (1224)
- Spring (1221)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Degree Programs
- MBB Co-op Program
- Research Opportunities
- Scholarship & Funding
- Student Resources
- Graduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Manage Your Program
- Courses
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Spring (1231)
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1221)
- Summer (1224)
- Fall (1227)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Forms And Resources
- Events
- Graduate Student Caucus
- Research
- Research Labs
- Audas Lab
- Beh Lab
- Braid lab
- Brinkman Lab
- Brockman Lab
- Chen Lab
- Choy Lab
- Craig lab
- Gorski Lab
- Harden Lab
- Hawkins Lab
- Holt Lab
- Hsiao lab
- Jaumouillé lab
- King Lab
- Larijani Lab
- Lee Lab
- Leroux Lab
- Morin Lab
- Paetzel Lab
- Pio Lab
- Quarmby Lab
- Sen Lab
- Thewalt Lab
- Tibbits Lab
- Unrau Lab
- Verheyen Lab
- Vocadlo Lab
- Young lab
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities
- C2D2 Centre for Cell Biology, Development, and Disease
- Omics Data Science Initiative
- Research Labs
- Resources
- News & Events
- MBB Calendar
- Colloquia
- Honours & Awards
- News Archives
- 2023
- Congratulations to Dustin King, Amy Lee and David Vocadlo: recipients of New Frontiers in Research Fund
- SFU research aids fight against treatment-resistant superbugs
- Leroux lab Nature Communications paper identifies novel human disease gene linked to retinal degeneration, one of a growing number of genes associated with ciliary dysfunction (ciliopathies)
- Graduate student Minh Nguyen and his colleagues in the Craig lab reveal the mechanism of Type IV-pilus mediated bacterial secretion
- Global News BC: Dr. Fiona Brinkman Discusses How Scientists Track Mutations in the New Covid-19 Variants
- 2022
- Congratulations to Dr. Tim Audas on The Renewal of Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular Stress
- $2 Million Gift From SFU Professors Emeriti Helps Seed New Ideas at SFU Science
- Learn more about Dr. King's new lab that focuses on natural ‘carbon capture’ solutions
- Congratulations to Dr. Amy Lee: The Recipient of The Banting Research Foundation's 2022 Discovery Award
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, The Recipient of Governor General’s Gold Medal
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Cory Macklin Who Overcame Challenges to Win Governor General's Silver Medal
- Congratulations to Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, the recipient of Dr. Bruce Brandhorst Prizes for Best Publication and Best PhD Thesis
- Meet Our Newest Faculty: Dr. Dustin King on His Exploration of Weaving Western Science with Indigenous Ways of Knowing
- Congratulations to our June 2022 Graduands
- Dr. Lynne Quarmby and Her Book "WaterMelon Snow: Science, Art, and a Lone Polar Bear" is Featured in SFU Knowledge Mobilizers Series
- Congratulations to our May 2022 Graduands
- Congratulations to Dr. Mani Larijani for Being Awarded a Prestigious New Frontiers in Research Fund Grant
- A New Paper from Beh Lab on ER-PM membrane contact site regulation by yeast ORPs and membrane stress pathways has been published in Plos Genetics Journal
- Dr. Lorena Braid is featured among new and renewed Canada Research Chairs
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2023
- Support
- Faculty + Staff Portal

Nancy Hawkins
Areas of interest
The Hawkins lab uses C. elegans to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying asymmetric cell division. Asymmetric cell division is the process by which a mother cell divides to produce two daughter cells that adopt distinct cell fates and is essential for the generation of cell diversity during development. Many outstanding questions include: How does cell signaling contribute to asymmetric cell division? Are asymmetrically localized determinants conserved between organisms or cell types? How does an asymmetrically localized factor ultimately lead to differential gene expression necessary for cell fate determination? C. elegans is ideally suited to investigate these questions. Since the entire cell lineage is known, the timing, location and polarity of cell divisions can be analyzed at the resolution of single cells. Both cell signaling and the asymmetric segregation of intracellular proteins are required to specify distinct daughter cell fates during asymmetric cell division. We are currently using molecular, genetic and cell biological approaches to understand the mechanisms by which the highly conserved Wnt signaling pathway and the asymmetrically localized HAM-1 protein contribute to asymmetric cell division.
Education
- B.Sc., Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology, University of Calgary
- M.Sc., Medical Sciences, University of Calgary
- Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Princeton University
Selected Publications
- Leung et al., C. elegans HAM-1 functions in the nucleus to regulate asymmetric cell division. Dev Biol 2016
- Hingwing et al. CWN-1 functions with DSH-2 to regulate C. elegans asymmetric neuroblast division in a ß-catenin independent Wnt pathway. Dev Biol 2009
- King et al. The N- or C-terminal domains of DSH-2 can activate the C. elegans Wnt/ß-catenin asymmetry pathway. Dev Biol 2009
- View more publications
Courses
Fall 2023
Future courses may be subject to change.