Principal Investigator
B.Sc., Biological Sciences (Simon Fraser University)
Ph.D., Experimental Pathology (University of British Columbia)
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Molecular and Experimental Medicine (Scripps Research Institute)
Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBC
Executive Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI)
Associate Dean, Research – VCHRI, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
Associate Director, BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn and Wound Healing Research Laboratory, Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, UBC
Principal Investigator, UBC ICORD
Principal Investigator, UBC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul’s Hospital
Associate Member, Department of Surgery, UBC
Affiliated Member, CIHR Skin Research Training Centre, UBC
Adjunct Professor, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, viDA Therapeutics Inc.
Research Interests
Aging; Cardiovascular health; dermatology; extracellular matrix; Granzymes; inflammation; proteases; Pulmonary health; remodelling; Repair; Tissue injury; Wound healingOver the past 20 years, Dr. Granville’s research program has focused on identifying mechanisms that underlie tissue injury and therapeutic targets that can be exploited to reduce injury and/or promote healing. His research is presently centered on how aging and immobility affect tissue injury, inflammation, and repair in different types of tissues. Dr. Granville’s research team is investigating a family of immune cell-secreted proteases known as granzymes (granule-secreted enzymes) and their role in aging and chronic inflammation. Dr. Granville identified that granzymes are elevated and contribute to the pathogenesis of conditions associated with impaired healing and inflammation, including skin injuries, autoimmune skin diseases, and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. In order to study granzymes in a diverse set of indications, Dr. Granville collaborates with a network of expert clinical and scientific collaborators. Dr. Granville is currently translating his discoveries into the development and commercialization of novel, first-in-class therapeutics.
At ICORD, Dr. Granville’s team is expanding on their discoveries in tissue injury, inflammation, and repair, and applying their expertise to spinal cord injury, pressure injury, dermatological conditions, and aging-related disorders. Dr. Granville also continues to lead an established research program examining the role of granzymes in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Dr. Granville’s team is currently one of few groups in the world studying granzyme K in inflammation and disease.
Major Findings:
In his early career (1994-2001), he worked at QLT Inc. (Vancouver, BC), where his research supported the development and approval of Visudyne® as the first treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In 1999, Visudyne® was approved by the FDA, resulting in the largest ophthalmic product release in history at the time. Dr. Granville’s research is referred to on the drug label for Visudyne® and he is listed as a primary inventor on patents pertaining to his work at QLT. In 2001, Dr. Granville relocated to the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA), where he identified a novel therapeutic approach for attenuating cardiac ischemia and reperfusion injury. Dr. Granville is a primary inventor on patents pertaining to the latter discoveries that led to the formation of Radical Therapeutix Inc (San Diego, CA). Dr. Granville was recruited back to UBC in 2003 as a Canada Research Chair and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar.
At UBC, Dr. Granville’s laboratory has been a significant contributor to challenging the existing dogma that granzymes (granule-secreted enzymes) function solely as an intracellular mediator of lymphocyte-induced targeted cell death. His team was first to demonstrate a novel extracellular role for granzyme B in a disease model. Dr. Granville’s group has since discovered pathogenic roles for granzyme B in aging, chronic inflammation, tissue injury, and repair. In particular, discoveries pertaining to granzyme B in skin frailty, wound healing, and blistering have led to the formation of viDA Therapeutics. Together with viDA, the UBC Centre for Drug Research and Development (now adMare Bioinnovations), and other clinical specialists, Dr. Granville is developing and testing novel first-in-class therapeutics for both autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions of the skin, with a goal of entering the clinic by 2021. Dr. Granville’s research has resulted in the filing of 44 patents, of which all are owned by UBC and/or licensed to industry, and all include his trainees as co-inventors. He is also the Scientific Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the UBC spin-off company, viDA Therapeutics, Inc.
Notable Publications:
- Hiroyasu S, Zeglinski MR, Zhao H, Pawluk MA, Turner CT, Kasprick A, Tateishi C, Nishie W, Burleigh A, Lennox PA, Van Laeken N, Carr NJ, Peterson F, Crawford RI, Shimizu H, Tsuruta D, Ludwig RJ, Granville DJ. Granzyme B Inhibition Reduces Disease Severity in Autoimmune Blistering Diseases. Nature Comm. 2020. In press.
- Turner CT, Zeglinski MR, Richardson KC, Santacruz S, Hiroyasu S, Wang C, Zhao H, Shen Y, Sehmi R, Lima H, Gauvreau GM, Granville DJ. Granzyme B Contributes to Barrier Dysfunction in Oxazolone-Induced Skin Inflammation through E-Cadherin and FLG Cleavage. J Invest Dermatol. 2020 Jun 3:S0022-202X(20)31660-2.
- Turner CT, Zeglinski MR, Richardson KC, Zhao H, Shen Y, Papp A, Bird PI, Granville DJ. Granzyme K expressed by classically activated macrophages contributes to inflammation and impaired remodeling. J. Invest. Dermatol. 2019: 139(4):930-939.
- Turner CT, Lim D, Granville DJ. Granzyme B in Skin Inflammation and Disease. Matrix Biol. 2019 75-76:126-140.
- Parkinson LG, Toro A, Brown K, Tebbutt SJ, Granville DJ. Granzyme B mediates both direct and indirect cleavage of extracellular matrix in skin after chronic low-dose ultra-violet light irradiation. Aging Cell. 2015: 14(1): 67-77.
- Marchant D, Bellac C, Moraes TJ, Wadsworth S, Dufour A, Butler GS, Bilawchuk L, Hendry R, Robertson G, Cheung C, Ng J, Ang L, Luo Z, Heilbron K, Norris M, Duan W, Bucyk, Karpov A, Devel L, Georgiadis D, Hegele RG, Luo H, Granville DJ, Dive V, McManus BM, Overall CM. A new transcriptional role of moonlighting MMP12 in antiviral immunity. Nature Med. 2014: 20(5):493-502.
Techniques Employed and Fields of Study in the Lab:
- Molecular biology
- Biochemistry
- Histology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Microscopy
- Primary cell culture
- Wound healing assays
- Migration assays
- Epithelial barrier function
- Endothelial permeability
- Apoptosis
- Extracellular matrix remodeling
- Inflammation
- Vascular function
- Disease modelling (aneurysm, atherosclerosis, ischemia/reperfusion, vascular leakage, airway inflammation, acute/chronic wound healing, burn, frostbite, fibrosis, scarring, pressure injury, autoimmune skin diseases)
- Preclinical validation
- Drug discovery
Affiliations with Organizations:
- BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn and Wound Healing Research Laboratory
- adMare Bioinnovations (formerly Centre for Drug Research and Development), UBC
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, UBC
- Departments of Pathology and Surgery, UBC
- viDA Therapeutics, Inc.
Awards:
Some of Dr. Granville’s major awards and accomplishments include:
- Award of Excellence in Research in Aging, CIHR (July 2022)
- Tier II Canada Research Chair
- Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar
- Young Investigator Award, Canadian Society of Transplantation
- Wilbert J. Keon Award for Basic Science Finalist
- Canada Top 40 Under 40 Award
- Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, University of British Columbia
- American Heart Association – Louis N and Arnold M Katz Basic Science Research Prize Finalist
- Outstanding Alumni Award for Academic Achievement, Simon Fraser University
- Canadian Association of Pathologists Junior Scientist Award
- Business in Vancouver Forty Under 40 Award
- Fellow of the American Heart Association
- Scholar of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada
Current Lab Members:
| Undergraduate Students | Masters Students | PhD Students | Medical Residents | Postdoctoral Fellows | Research Associates | Research Staff | Administrative Staff |
| Derek Wu | Megan Pawluk | Katlyn Richardson | Dr. Diana Forbes | Dr. Daniel Yoo | Yunyuan Li | Hongyan Zhao | Dr. Karen Jung |
| Michael Lane | Dr. Matthew Carr | Dr. Alexandre Aubert | Tatjana Ponomarev | ||||
| Dr. Layla Nabai | |||||||
| Dr. Nafise Amiri | |||||||
| Dr. Claudia Dietrich |
Trainee Awards:
| Year | Trainee | Award |
| 2022 | Nafise Amiri | Trainee Travel Award, ICORD/Rick Hansen Foundation |
| 2022 | Nafise Amiri | Travel Award, Skin Research Group of Canada |
| 2022 | Megan Pawluk | Trainee Travel Award, ICORD/Rick Hansen Foundation |
| 2022 | Megan Pawluk | Travel Award, Skin Research Group of Canada |
| 2022 | Megan Pawluk | Travel Award, UBC Edwin H. Leong Healthy Aging Program |
| 2022 | Megan Pawluk | Student Poster Presentation Award, UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| 2022 | Katlyn Richardson | Trainee Travel Award, ICORD/Rick Hansen Foundation |
| 2022 | Katlyn Richardson | Travel Award, Skin Research Group of Canada |
| 2022 | Katlyn Richardson | Travel Award, UBC Edwin H. Leong Healthy Aging Program |
| 2022 | Katlyn Richardson | Elected Co-Chair of the ICORD Trainee Committee, ICORD |
| 2022 | Katlyn Richardson | President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, UBC |
| 2022 | Alexandre Aubert | Social Justice Award – Skunkworks: Hacking Wounds for Mend and Tend Project (ongoing), Providence Health Care and St. Paul’s Foundation |
| 2022 | Derek Wu | Summer Student Award, UBC Faculty of Medicine |
| 2021 | Megan Pawluk | Graduate Student Award, UBC Faculty of Medicine |
| 2021 | Megan Pawluk | 2nd Place – Oral Presentation Award |
| 2021 | Megan Pawluk | ICORD Trainee Travel Award |
| 2021 | Layla Nabai | Conference Travel Award, 8th Annual Skin Research Group of Canada |
| 2021 | Layla Nabai | ICORD Trainee Travel Award |
| 2021 | Layla Nabai | CIHR Fellowship |
| 2021 | Lara Gouveia | MSFHR Research Trainee Award |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, UBC |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | PhD Travel Award, UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | Invited Committee Member, VCHRI Training Committee |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | Elected Co-Chair, ICORD Trainee Committee |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | Conference Travel Award, 8th Annual Skin Research Group of Canada |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | ICORD Trainee Travel Award |
| 2021 | Katlyn Richardson | Moderator, 8th Annual Skin Research Group of Canada Conference |
| 2020-2024 | Katlyn Richardson | 4-Year Fellowship for PhD Students |
| 2020-2023 | Katlyn Richardson | Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral, CIHR |
| 2020 | Leilynaz Malekafzali | Faculty of Medicine Summer Student Award (Declined due to Covid-19-related challenges), UBC Faculty of Medicine |
| 2020 | Sho Hiroyasu | CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) |
| 2020 | Katlyn Richardson | CIHR Doctoral Award: Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships, CIHR
Appointed Member of the Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada) Training Committee, SkIN Canada President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, UBC Second Place Visual Art (Health Science Inquiry Journal Cover Page Contest), University of Alberta VCHRI Rising Star Award, VCHRI/UBC Four Year Doctoral Fellowship (Declined) and Full Tuition Coverage, UBC |
| 2020 | Chris Turner | Top Young Investigator Award, Wound Healing Society
Travel Award, Wound Healing Society Travel Award, Australasian Wound and Tissue Repair Society Travel Award, BC Regenerative Medicine Cluster Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society Oral Presentation Award, Skin Research Group of Canada Oral Presentation (virtual) – Young Investigator Award, Wound Healing Society |
| 2019 | Chris Turner | Co-Applicant, ICORD Seed Grant
Top Young Investigator Award, Wound Healing Society Travel Award, Skin Research Group of Canada Travel Award, Wound Healing Society Travel Award, ICORD Travel Award, Australasian Wound and Tissue Repair Society (AWTRS) Travel Award, BC Regenerative Medicine Cluster |
| Matthew Zeglinski | 1st Place, ImmunoBC Speed Talk
UBC Science Co-op Supervisor Recognition Award |
|
| Sho Hiroyasu | Best Scientific Paper, UBC Plastic Surgery Research Day
Top Post-Doctoral Fellow Abstract, UBC Pathology Day Travel Award, ICORD |
|
| Katlyn Richardson | Department Nominee, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
Canada Graduate Scholarship Masters Award Trainee Travel Award, The Histochemical Society Experimental Biology Conference Travel Award, Skin Research Group of Canada Travel Award, ICORD Top Presentation, UBC Skin Care Research Workshop Best Oral Presentation, Skin Research Group of Canada Best Oral Presentation, ICORD Trainee Research Day People’s Choice Top Oral Presentation, UBC Faculty of Medicine Research Day |
|
| 2018 | Chris Turner | CIHR Travel Award from the Institute of Aging
Top Science Presentation at UBC Plastic Surgery Day Travel Award from Wound Healing Society ICORD Trainee Symposium Presentation Award (Senior category) Australasian Wound and Tissue Repair Society (AWTRS) Conference Award AWTRS Young Investigator of the Year, Australia Travel Award (ICORD) CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) |
| Keerit Tauh | Best Poster in Basic Science for the 2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress
Travel Award for Circulatory & Respiratory Health (CIHR) Travel Award (ICORD) |
|
| Keir Martyn | Top Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation Award at UBC Pathology Day | |
| Sho Hiroyasu | Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellowship (Accelerate) with matching funds from RHI | |
| Matthew Zeglinski | CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR)
MSFHR Postdoctoral (MSFHR) |
|
| Steve Shen | Travel Award for Young Investigators (American Heart Association ATVB)
Travel Award (ICORD) Travel Award (Canadian Society for Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology) |
|
| Valerio Russo | Best Design Poster Award (ICORD SCI Symposium)
Highest Ranked Abstract Award (UBC Pathology and Laboratory Medicine) Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) |
|
| Katlyn Richardson | Entrance Scholarship, UBC Graduate Studies
Graduate Award, UBC Faculty of Medicine |
|
| Cameron Oram | Travel Award (ICORD) | |
| Stephanie Santacruz | Travel Award (ICORD) | |
| 2017 | Cameron Oram | Travel Award (ICORD) |
| Valerio Russo | Best Design Poster Award (ICORD SCI Symposium)
Highest Ranked Abstract Award (UBC Pathology and Laboratory Medicine) Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) Postdoctoral Fellowship (Mitacs) |
|
| Stephanie Santacruz | Travel Award (ICORD) | |
| Steve Shen | ATVB Travel Award for Young Investigators (Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology)
Travel Award (ICORD) |
|
| Keerit Tauh | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s Award (CIHR)
Clinician Investigator Scholarship (UBC Faculty of Medicine) |
|
| Chris Turner | Travel Award (ICORD)
Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) |
|
| Matthew Zeglinski | Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR)
Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSFHR) |
|
| 2016 | Valerio Russo | IMPACT Award (CIHR) |
| Steve Shen | IMPACT Award (CIHR)
Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) |
|
| Stephanie Santacruz | Best Poster Award (ICORD AGM) | |
| Chris Turner | IMPACT Award (CIHR) | |
| 2015 | Yulia Merkolova | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship (CIHR) |
| Steve Shen | Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Travel Award (American Heart Association) | |
| 2014 | Paul Hanson | Top Poster Award (American Society for Investigative Pathology) |
| Paul Hiebert | Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) | |
| Leigh Parkinson | Top Poster Award (American Society for Investigative Pathology) | |
| 2013 | Alon Hendel | Top Poster Award (ImmunoVancouver) |
| Ivy Hsu | Top Poster Prize (UBC Skin Research Day)
Graduate Student Fellowship (UBC Department of Pathology) |
|
| 2012 | Lisa Ang | Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology)
Oral Presentation Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) |
| Alon Hendel | Top Poster Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) | |
| Paul Hiebert | Top Graduate Student Award (James Hogg Research Centre) | |
| Ivy Hsu | Skin Research Training Centre Scholar Award (CIHR) | |
| 2010 | Lisa Ang | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship (CIHR)
Top Oral Presentation (UBC Pathology Day) |
| Wendy Boivin | Young Investigator Forum Poster Award (CIHR)Travel Award (American Society for Matrix Biology) | |
| Dawn Cooper | Alice Wilson Award of the Royal Society of Canada
Postdoctoral Fellowship (NSERC) |
|
| Alon Hendel | Jean-Francois Bowden Award (Institute for Heart and Lung Health)
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship |
|
| Paul Hiebert | Doctoral Fellowship (NSERC)Skin Research Training Centre Scholar Award (CIHR)
Jean-Francois Bowden Award (Institute for Heart and Lung Health) Top Poster Award (Providence Heart and Lung FEST) |
|
| 2009 | Lisa Ang | Travel Award (North American Vascular Biology Organization)
Top Poster Prize, Runner-up (UBC Pathology Day) |
| Alon Hendel | Graduate Scholarship (Pacific Century)
Graduate Research Fellowship (UBC) Have a Heart Bursary Program Award (Canadian Cardiovascular Society) Top Junior Poster Presentation (Centre for Blood Research, UBC) |
|
| Paul Hiebert | Skin Research Training Centre Fellowship (CIHR)
Have a Heart Bursary Program Award (Canadian Cardiovascular Society) Top Poster Presentation (UBC Pathology Day) Top Senior Poster Presentation (Centre for Blood Research, UBC) |
|
| Arwen Hunter | Postdoctoral Fellowship (Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada) | |
| Sarah Williams | IMPACT Award (CIHR)
Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR) |
Current Opportunities in the Lab:
Although his laboratory is quite full at the moment, Dr. Granville is always on the lookout for talented, energetic and bright graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to join his team if funding is available. Please contact Dr. Granville with inquiries.
Recent publications
- Obasanmi, G et al.. 2024. Granzyme B degrades extracellular matrix and promotes inflammation and choroidal neovascularization.. Angiogenesis. doi: 10.1007/s10456-024-09909-9.
- Ben-Eltriki, M et al.. 2024. Granzyme B promotes matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) release from gingival fibroblasts in a PAR1- and Erk1/2-dependent manner: A novel role in periodontal inflammation.. J Periodontal Res. doi: 10.1111/jre.13190.
- Lim, YS et al.. 2023. NK cell-derived extracellular granzyme B drives epithelial ulceration during HSV-2 genital infection.. Cell Rep. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112410.
- Obasanmi, G et al.. 2023. Granzyme B Contributes to Choroidal Neovascularization and Age-Related Macular Degeneration Through Proteolysis of Thrombospondin-1.. Lab Invest. doi: 10.1016/j.labinv.2023.100123.
- Gleave, A, Granville, DJ. 2023. Granzyme B in Autoimmune Skin Disease.. Biomolecules. doi: 10.3390/biom13020388.
