- 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

Robert Holt
Areas of interest
The main focus in our lab (located at the BC Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre) is understanding and potentiating the anti-cancer immune response. Increasingly cancer is being seen as a disease of immune failure, and in the field considerable effort is being focused on evoking and/or potentiating anti-tumor immunity. In our group, we are taking many approaches in both patient and animal studies to isolate and expand tumor-specific T cells, and to genetically engineer them for improved efficacy. We also develop high-throughput genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic methods to probe the cellular immune system, with a focus on antigen discovery. In addition to immunology, we also touch on aspects of microbiome research, brain research and evolutionary biology in our group.
Education
- BSc Biology, University of British Columbia
- PhD Pharmacology, University of Alberta
- PDF Molecular Evolution, State University of New York
Selected Publications
- Holt RA. Immunogenomics: a foundation for intelligent immune design.Genome Medicine. 2015;7:116. doi:10.1186/s13073-015-0247-y. Read more.
- Gibb EA, Warren RL, Wilson GW, et al. Activation of an endogenous retrovirus-associated long non-coding RNA in human adenocarcinoma. Genome Medicine. 2015;7(1):22. doi:10.1186/s13073-015-0142-6. Read more.
- Surveillance of the Tumor Mutanome by T Cells during Progression from Primary to Recurrent Ovarian Cancer. Darin A. Wick, John R. Webb, Julie S. Nielsen, Spencer D. Martin,David R. Kroeger, Katy Milne, Mauro Castellarin, Kwame Twumasi-Boateng,Peter H. Watson, Rob A. Holt, and Brad H. Nelson. Clin Cancer Res March 1, 2014 20:1125-1134; Published OnlineFirst December 9, 2013; doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-13-2147. Read more.
- View more publications
Courses
Fall 2023
Future courses may be subject to change.