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  3. David Granville

David Granville

Professor
Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
Executive Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Academic Appointment
Professor
Degrees / Designations

PhD, FAH

Contact Info
www.granzymes.com
david.granville@vch.ca
604-675-8869
davidgranville/

Biography

Dr. David Granville is executive director of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) and associate dean of research in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bristish Columbia (UBC). He is also a professor in UBC's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Granville is a principal investigator at the International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries (ICORD) and associate director of the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn and Wound Healing Research Group at the UBC Division of Plastic Surgery. His research program focuses on mechanisms of tissue injury, factors that impair healing (e.g. aging, diabetes, environmental influences) and the discovery of novel therapeutics for age-related and chronic inflammatory conditions. 

In his early career (1994-2001), Dr. Granville’s preclinical research at the UBC spinoff biotechnology company, QLT Inc., supported the development and approval of Visudyne® as the first treatment for age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in older adults. His research was referred to on the drug label for Visudyne® and he is listed as a primary inventor on patents pertaining to his preclinical work related to this drug. 

In 2001, Dr. Granville relocated to the Scripps Research Institute in California where his research identified a novel therapeutic approach for reducing ischemic damage to the heart due to myocardial infarction (also known as the cardiac ischemia and reperfusion injury). Dr. Granville is a primary inventor on several publications and patents pertaining to the latter discoveries that led to the formation of Radical Therapeutix Inc. (San Diego, CA). 

In 2003, Dr. Granville was recruited to UBC as a Canada Research Chair and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research scholar. In 2005, he was awarded a Canada Top 40 Under 40™ award by Caldwell Partners. He also received the 2006 UBC Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, 2007 SFU Academic Alumnus Award, 2008 Canadian Association of Pathologists Junior Scientist Award, 2010 Business in Vancouver Top Forty Under 40 Award and was a runner-up for the prestigious Louis and Arnold Katz Basic Science Prize at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. In 2014, he was named as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA). Dr. Granville was also inducted as a Scholar of the Royal Society of Canada. 

Since arriving at UBC, his translational research program has continued to focus on tissue injury, inflammation and repair resulting in numerous publications, patents leading to the formation of a local biotechnology spinoff company.

News and Awards

Change is a unique opportunity for discovery

Dec 4, 2022

Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute recognized as one of Canada’s top hospital-based research institutes

Jan 18, 2022

Together, we are driving the engine of research innovation

Dec 7, 2021

VCHRI recognized with 2021 Dean’s Staff Award for creativity and innovation

Nov 29, 2021

Scientists discover key enzyme responsible for skin blistering in the elderly

Jan 11, 2021

Resilience and adaptability make hope possible

Dec 8, 2020

Top Graduating Doctoral Student Award and Rising Star Award 2020 Recipients

Jul 21, 2020

Getting rid of the itch

Jun 8, 2020

Fueling innovative discoveries with creative approaches

Dec 2, 2019

One-on-one with Dr. David Granville

Apr 28, 2019

Saving skin—research identifies an enzyme that may cause blistering

Sep 4, 2018

Publications

  • NPJ aging and mechanisms of disease -

    Granzyme B mediates impaired healing of pressure injuries in aged skin.

    Turner CT, Bolsoni J, Zeglinski MR, Zhao H, Ponomarev T, Richardson K, Hiroyasu S, Schmid E, Papp A, Granville DJ
  • Nature communications -

    Granzyme B inhibition reduces disease severity in autoimmune blistering diseases.

    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, Petersen F, Crawford RI, Shimizu H, Tsuruta D, Ludwig RJ, Granville DJ
  • Cellular signalling -

    Granzymes in cardiovascular injury and disease.

    Zeglinski MR, Granville DJ
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America -

    Podocalyxin is required for maintaining blood-brain barrier function during acute inflammation.

    Cait J, Hughes MR, Zeglinski MR, Chan AW, Osterhof S, Scott RW, Canals Hernaez D, Cait A, Vogl AW, Bernatchez P, Underhill TM, Granville DJ, Murphy TH, Roskelley CD, McNagny KM
  • Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology -

    Granzyme B in skin inflammation and disease.

    Turner CT, Lim D, Granville DJ
  • Cell reports -

    Talin Autoinhibition Regulates Cell-ECM Adhesion Dynamics and Wound Healing In Vivo.

    Haage A, Goodwin K, Whitewood A, Camp D, Bogutz A, Turner CT, Granville DJ, Lefebvre L, Plotnikov S, Goult BT, Tanentzapf G
  • PloS one -

    Granzyme K activates protease-activated receptor-1.

    Cooper DM, Pechkovsky DV, Hackett TL, Knight DA, Granville DJ
  • Scientific reports -

    Granzyme B is elevated in autoimmune blistering diseases and cleaves key anchoring proteins of the dermal-epidermal junction.

    Russo V, Klein T, Lim DJ, Solis N, Machado Y, Hiroyasu S, Nabai L, Shen Y, Zeglinski MR, Zhao H, Oram CP, Lennox PA, Van Laeken N, Carr NJ, Crawford RI, Franzke CW, Overall CM, Granville DJ
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