Lim, Emilia

Research Interest

Environmental exposures have been associated with the incidence of age-related illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, impaired cognitive function, metabolic dysregulation. However, how most environmental exposures, such as pollution, contribute to disease is still unclear.

Our bioinformatics group investigates how environmental pollutants shape the genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics of cells to transform normal tissues into disease states. We will utilize a multi-omic approach to study samples from cancer patients and from individuals who have been exposed to pollution.

An understanding of how environmental exposures accelerate age-related disease development will allow us to mitigate the risk of developing an age-related disease and promote healthy and successful aging across Canada.

Research Areas

• Bioinformatics
• Cancer
• Aging
• Genomics
• Transcriptomics
• Epigenomics
• Pollution Exposure

Recruiting

We are seeking outstanding and motivated graduate students with research interests in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, environmental exposures and cancer biology. Students would be enrolled in the Bioinformatics Graduate Program (https://www.bioinformatics.ubc.ca/) or Genome Science and Technology Graduate Program (https://www.gsat.ubc.ca/). Candidates should apply directly to Dr. Emilia Lim at emilia.lim@ubc.ca with a cover letter, curriculum vitae, transcript, and contact detail for referees.

Publications

Comprehensive List 

• Google Scholar

Selected Publications

Hill W* , Lim EL* , Weeden CE* , Lee C , Augustine M , Chen K , Kuan FC , Marongiu F , Evans EJ , Moore DA , Rodrigues FS , Pich O , Bakker B , Cha H , Myers R , van Maldegem F , Boumelha J , Veeriah S , Rowan A , Naceur-Lombardelli C , Karasaki T , Sivakumar M , De S , Caswell DR , Nagano A , Black JRM , Martínez-Ruiz C , Ryu MH , Huff RD , Li S , Favé MJ , Magness A , Suárez-Bonnet A , Priestnall SL , Lüchtenborg M , Lavelle K , Pethick J , Hardy S , McRonald FE , Lin MH , Troccoli CI , Ghosh M , Miller YE , Merrick DT , Keith RL , Al Bakir M , Bailey C , Hill MS , Saal LH , Chen Y , George AM , Abbosh C , Kanu N , Lee SH , McGranahan N , Berg CD , Sasieni P , Houlston R , Turnbull C , Lam S , Awadalla P , Grönroos E , Downward J , Jacks T , Carlsten C , Malanchi I , Hackshaw A , Litchfield K , TRACERx Consortium , DeGregori J , Jamal-Hanjani M , Swanton C. (2023). Lung adenocarcinoma promotion by air pollutants. Nature. 616(7955): 159-167. *Equal Contribution

Watkins TBK* , Lim EL* , Petkovic M , Elizalde S , Birkbak NJ , Wilson GA , Moore DA , Grönroos E , Rowan A , Dewhurst SM , Demeulemeester J , Dentro SC , Horswell S , Au L , Haase K , Escudero M , Rosenthal R , Bakir MA , Xu H , Litchfield K , Lu WT , Mourikis TP , Dietzen M , Spain L , Cresswell GD , Biswas D , Lamy P , Nordentoft I , Harbst K , Castro-Giner F , Yates LR , Caramia F , Jaulin F , Vicier C , Tomlinson IPM , Brastianos PK , Cho RJ , Bastian BC , Dyrskjøt L , Jönsson GB , Savas P , Loi S , Campbell PJ , Andre F , Luscombe NM , Steeghs N , Tjan-Heijnen VCG , Szallasi Z , Turajlic S , Jamal-Hanjani M , Van Loo P , Bakhoum SF , Schwarz RF , McGranahan N , Swanton C. (2020). Pervasive chromosomal instability and karyotype order in tumour evolution. Nature. 587(7832): 126-132. *Equal Contribution

Lim EL , Trinh DL , Ries RE , Wang J , Gerbing RB , Ma Y , Topham J , Hughes M , Pleasance E , Mungall AJ , Moore R , Zhao Y , Aplenc R , Sung L , Kolb EA , Gamis A , Smith M , Gerhard DS , Alonzo TA , Meshinchi S , Marra MA. (2017). MicroRNA Expression-Based Model Indicates Event-Free Survival in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 35(35): 3964-3977.

Lim EL , Trinh DL , Scott DW , Chu A , Krzywinski M , Zhao Y , Robertson AG , Mungall AJ , Schein J , Boyle M , Mottok A , Ennishi D , Johnson NA , Steidl C , Connors JM , Morin RD , Gascoyne RD , Marra MA. (2015). Comprehensive miRNA sequence analysis reveals survival differences in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients. Genome biology. 16(1): 18.

Lim E , Pon A , Djoumbou Y , Knox C , Shrivastava S , Guo AC , Neveu V , Wishart DS. (2010). T3DB: a comprehensively annotated database of common toxins and their targets. Nucleic acids research. 38(Database i): D781-6.