Dr. B. Brett Finlay is a Professor in the
Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Departments of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the
University of British Columbia. He obtained a B.Sc. (Honors)
in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, where he also
did his Ph.D. (1986) in Biochemistry under Dr. William Paranchych,
studying F-like plasmid conjugation. His post-doctoral studies
were performed with Dr. Stanley Falkow at the Department of
Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School
of Medicine, where he studied Salmonella invasion into host
cells. In 1989, he joined UBC as an Assistant Professor in the
Biotechnology Laboratory. Dr. Finlay’s research interests
are focussed on host-pathogen interactions, at the molecular
level. By combining cell biology with microbiology, he has been
at the forefront of the emerging field called Cellular Microbiology,
making several fundamental discoveries in this field, and publishing
over 300 papers. His laboratory studies several pathogenic bacteria,
with Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli interactions with host
cells being the primary focus. He is well recognized internationally
for his work, and has won several prestigious awards including
the E.W.R. Steacie Prize, the CSM Fisher Scientific Award, a
MRC Scientist, five Howard Hughes International Research Scholar
Awards, a CIHR Distinguished Investigator, BC Biotech Innovation
Award, the Michael Smith Health Research Prize, the IDSA Squibb
award, the Jacob Biely Prize, is a Fellow of the Royal Society
of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, an Officer
of Canada and awarded the Order of BC, and is
the UBC Peter Wall Distinguished Professor. He is a cofounder
of Inimex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Director of the SARS
Accelerated Vaccine Initiative. He also serves on several
editorial and advisory boards, and is a strong supporter of
communicating science to the public.
