John Rubinstein
banner
johnrubinstein.bsky.social
John Rubinstein
@johnrubinstein.bsky.social
CryoEM, Bioenergetics, V-ATPases (especially in synaptic vesicles and lysosomes), OxPhos (especially in mycobacteria as a TB drug target)
Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children
Professor, U of Toronto
👨‍👩‍👧🔬🚲
rubinsteinlab.org
COI: structura.bio
Pinned
New lab preprint!
@zestytoast.bsky.social tagged a scarce mycobacterial protein in M. smegmatis with TwinStep but got… something? @kjamali.bsky.social's ModelAngelo built models & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's FoldSeek IDed them as the biotin-containing MCC & LCC complexes
🧵
tinyurl.com/ukny4ptz
Reposted by John Rubinstein
We are looking for a team leader to join the cryo-EM facility work at the new Ernst Ruska-Centre 2.0 at the Forschungszentrum Jülich. We have a series of microscopes used by (@irene-vercellino.bsky.social, Schröder, @sachsegroup.bsky.social) and external users.
www.fz-juelich.de/de/karriere/...
Team Leader – Life Science Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) Facility
Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C) at Forschungszentrum Jülich houses some of the world`s most advanced electron microscopes and tools for nanocharacterisation. U...
www.fz-juelich.de
December 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives. From HIV to TB, scientists and doctors made breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of some of the world’s deadliest diseases, by @katlay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/global-devel... via @theguardian.com
Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives
From HIV to TB, scientists and doctors made breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of some of the world’s deadliest diseases
www.theguardian.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
We’re excited to share our latest study that reshapes our understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipid composition, with major implications for drug discovery, immunity, and vaccine development.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A thread.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis overcomes phosphate starvation by extensively remodelling its lipidome with phosphorus-free lipids - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates lipid metabolism to overcome host restriction, by remodelling its lipidome and utilising host lipids as an alternative phosphate sour...
www.nature.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
We have an opening for a research support officer. Come and join us! Please share.
Are you an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist looking for a challenging project?
Come and join @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social’s group as a Research Support Officer and help decipher the molecular mechanisms of telomere maintenance!
Apply by 11 JAN
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPU715/r...
December 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
As 2025 comes to a close, my university (Dalhousie U in Halifax, Canada) is recruiting faculty, including outstanding early career researchers, and Canada Research Chairs. Applications are due January 19 2026 (was just notified today!). Please repost.
Dalhousie University is recruiting up to 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty positions
Backed by the Government of Canada’s $1.7 billion Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, Dalhousie University is undertaking one of the most ambitious research-leader recruitment efforts in its hi...
www.dal.ca
December 19, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Great news in the fight against antimicrobial resistance!

Two oral antibiotics have been approved by the FDA for uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea. As Neisseria gonorrhoeae is becoming resistant to all known antibiotics, such breakthroughs were urgently needed. (1/4)
www.fda.gov/news-events/...
December 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
UBC and BC Cancer are recruiting a cancer stem cell faculty member at the Associate Professor or Professor rank for the new Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research. A great position recognizing a giant in the field. Please share. #Vancouver
ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcfac...
Associate Professor (tenure) or Professor (tenure) Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research
Academic Job Category Faculty Bargaining Job Title Associate Professor (tenure) or Professor (tenure) Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research Department School of Biomedical Engineering | ...
ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Structure and organization of AMPA receptor-TARP complexes in the mammalian cerebellum | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Structure and organization of AMPA receptor-TARP complexes in the mammalian cerebellum
AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are multimodal transducers of glutamatergic signals throughout the brain. Their diversity is exemplified in the cerebellum; at afferent synapses, AMPARs mediate high-frequency ...
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 5:35 AM
I never get tired of this view from the lab
December 16, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The lab's entry into the annual Cell Biology + Molecular Medicine gingerbread house competition (no contribution from me).
The faux Greek writing pains me, but the construction is brilliant!
December 12, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
The Gonzalez Lab at Columbia University is seeking a scientific leader!

Join us in a Research Scientist position, driving single-molecule, structural, and biochemical studies of translation, translational control, and other RNA-based processes.

Apply: apply.interfolio.com/176949
December 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur

Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies

📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD

Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...

#JobOpportunity #Research
Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research
The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...
research.pasteur.fr
December 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an outlier in many ways. One of them is keeping a high degree of functional redundancy despite its obligate pathogen lifestyle. In this review, we reflect on the biological meaning of M. tuberculosis functional redundancies.

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Essential redundancies fuel Mycobacterium tuberculosis adaptation to the host
Redundancy in biology is, at a glance, counterintuitive because if the function of two gene products completely overlaps then, throughout the course of evolution, one of the genes will likely accumula...
journals.plos.org
December 7, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
TT in Experimental Biophysics

The Danish Institute for Advanced Study and the Dept of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Biophysics or a related discipline

fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
DIAS Fellow in Experimental Biophysics
The Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS) and the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy (FKF) at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) seek an excellent candidate to fill a tenure trac...
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Link to 1970 JMB paper detailing the discovery of HindII restriction enzyme here, loving the root story of a class of tools that have been so integral to so much research –

doi.org/10.1016/0022...
Redirecting
doi.org
December 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Sharing obit here for Ham Smith, who shared 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of Class II restriction enzymes. Enabled numerous basic science discoveries and biotech products in doing so.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/s...
Hamilton O. Smith, Who Made a Biotech Breakthrough, Is Dead at 94
www.nytimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Hey friends. I’m looking for a postdoc interested in studying host-pathogen interactions and immunology of tuberculosis. Send me some good people! We have a great group here! Email me joanne@pitt.edu. Thanks!
December 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
🌟 WeINSPIREBio is hosting its first event!

On Dec 4, we’re running a webinar:

Structures of Success: Career Journeys of Women in Structural Biology

If you work in SB, drug discovery, or just like hearing career stories from brilliant people, join us! And please share 🙏🏼

lnkd.in/ewjD5WPt

#cryoEM
November 24, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Exciting collab with Paul Palme, Peter Imming, & Adrian Richter!
Guided by @courbongautier.bsky.social's structure of myco ATP synthase bound to a squaramide, they have made SQAs that are less toxic, more potent, more stable than AstraZeneca's SQ31f
#MedChem #TB #NTM
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Mono- and Diamino-Substituted Squaramide Derivatives as Potent Inhibitors of Mycobacterial Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Synthase
Amides of squaric acid are new drug candidates with activity against mycobacteria. Like the approved drug bedaquiline, these compounds achieve efficacy by inhibiting mycobacterial ATP synthase. Howeve...
pubs.acs.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Cool new paper (www.jbc.org/article/S002... from my lab spearheaded by graduate students Sushant @sushantsuresh.bsky.social and Alex @alexlouiseshaw.bsky.social . This was a very cool collaboration with the Scott Hansen, Jennifer Cobb, Tamas Balla labs
www.jbc.org
November 5, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
🚀 Hiring: Cryo-EM Application Scientist, Marketing!

Develop and deliver high-impact scientific marketing content, illustrate the value of new #CryoSPARC features and #cryoEM advances, and help scientists understand how our tools can help solve their problems.

structura.bio/careers/appl...
Structura Bio | Structura Bio
structura.bio
November 20, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Really fun collaboration with Roman Melnyk from The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and Peter Dosa from University of Minnesota, making synthetic bile acids to be gut-restricted prevents C. difficile infection in a preclinical mouse model
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Peanut allergies are plummeting in children, and you can thank science. Early exposure has turned out to be one of the best prevention methods, by @picardonhealth.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Peanut allergies are plummeting in children, and you can thank science
Early exposure has turned out to be one of the best prevention methods for allergies in kids
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Excited to share our new preprint in collaboration with Ahmet Yildiz's lab. Check out how our team uncovers a novel binding footprint and motor regulation mechanism for MAP9 Congrats to Burak Cetin and @aryantaheri.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 18, 2025 at 10:43 PM