Huntsman Lab

If you are interested in how cell context, mutation and microenvironment interact to produce the distinct cancers seen in the uterus, fallopian tube and ovary, please contact us. 

The Huntsman lab aims to develop improved diagnostics, biologically informed prevention and cell context specific treatment strategies for ovarian cancers.  Dr. Huntsman is the scientific director of OvCaRe, BC’s multidisciplinary ovarian cancer research team.  His research has led to development of predictive and prognostic tissue based cancer biomarkers for ovarian cancer and a wide variety of other tumour types. They created a blueprint for subtype specific ovarian cancer control and have been leaders in the application of novel genomics technologies to ovarian cancer. Although Huntsman’s realm still uses proteomics and other genomic techniques to better understand ovarian and rare cancers, much of his research is focused on the question of how cell context, mutation and microenvironment interact to produce the absolutely distinct cancers seen in the uterus, fallopian tube and ovary.  To accomplish this, his team are using organoids derived from normal fallopian tube, endometrium and ovarian surface epithelium and uses single cell genomic techniques to determine the impact of the mutations found in these cancers. In the future they will use co-culture techniques and in-vivo systems to determine the impact of paracrine interactions with endometrial, fallopian tube, ovarian and other stroma.    

As collaboration is critical in his field, Dr. Huntsman happily leads and engages in a wide number of multidisciplinary research groups

The lab has on-site locations at the BC Cancer Research Centre, the Robert H.N. Ho Building and the Jack Bell Research Centre.

An overview of BC’s gynecologic cancer research program, OVCARE, can be found here.