Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
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vjrubenstein.bsky.social
Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
@vjrubenstein.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.4K following 220 posts
Lucky me, lucky mud.

Cell biology. Protein quality control. Yeast. PUI.

Survivor and Severance superfan

He/him

Views my own, not my employer's
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vjrubenstein.bsky.social
Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein @vjrubenstein.bsky.social · Mar 6
I wrote about the harmful impacts of NIH funding cuts on the health and economy of Indiana.

www.indystar.com/story/opinio...
Trump's NIH funding cuts halt Indiana's life-saving research | Opinion
If you’ve been to the doctor and received treatment, that treatment was very likely built on NIH-supported research.
www.indystar.com
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
drugmonkey.bsky.social
Live look at NIH SROs today….
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a messy room .
ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a messy room .
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
pskcellbio.bsky.social
Check out our @ascbiology.bsky.social #CellBio2025 Minisymposium on ER Homeostasis. With THIS speaker lineup, this event will be as dynamic, transformative and productive as the ER itself!
So don’t 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 yourselves over and join us to 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 in world of the ER. (All PUNS intended.)
November 9, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
drugmonkey.bsky.social
Note for my academic friends- your University is almost certain to have a food pantry. They will make good use of your cash donation.
eblissmoreau.bsky.social Eliza Bliss-Moreau @eblissmoreau.bsky.social · 8d
This, and also, create a food cupboard where you work to lower the barriers to accessing food. We just did this at our research center because, as illustrated in the thread below it's not just access to food, but efficient access to food. Having to wait in long lines makes the situation worse.
joshuagrubbsphd.bsky.social Josh Grubbs @joshuagrubbsphd.bsky.social · 9d
Friends, if you have the means to donate to a local food pantry financially via online giving, I highly encourage you to do that. But I don’t want to discount the importance of actually showing up at the pantry, even if it is just to drop off food. (1/5)
November 6, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
christophertape.bsky.social
Paul Nurse describing the main job of a PI

(From ‘The Thinking Game’, 2024)
October 31, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
inacademyofscience.bsky.social
We extend our deepest appreciation to Dr. Samina Akbar for her outstanding service as IAS President over the past year. Her leadership and continued service to the academy are paramount to our success!
September 29, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
angelone.bsky.social
The WSJ is confirming what I’ve always said about my alma mater: “Ball State is the Harvard of Muncie, Indiana.”
A description of a WSJ story on the “Elite College Myth” for panicky parents and eventual success. Schools mentioned include Ithaca, OSU, UCLA, Duke. Ball State, LSU, Harvard, and University of Texas Austin.
September 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
peiferlabunc.bsky.social
The community of Drosophila researchers is amazing, mutually supportive and collaborative. Right now a key resource for our community, @flybase.bsky.social , is threatened by the cancellation of its NIH grant and is seeking community help in raising short term funds 1/n 🧪 please share
Dear Fly Community, In May 2025, the NIH terminated all grant funding to Harvard University, including the NHGRI grant that supported FlyBase. This grant also funded FlyBase teams at Indiana University (IU) and the University of Cambridge (UK), and as a result, their subawards were also canceled. The Cambridge team has secured support for one to two years through generous donations from the European fly community, emergency funding from the Wellcome Trust, and support from the University of Cambridge. At IU, funding has been secured for one year thanks to reserve funds from Thom Kaufman and a supplement from ORIP/NIH to the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (BDSC). Unfortunately, the situation at Harvard is far more critical. Harvard University had supported FlyBase staff since May but recently denied a request for extended bridge funding. As a result, all eight employees (four full-time and four part-time) were abruptly laid off, with termination dates ranging from August to mid-October depending on their positions. In addition, our curator at the University of New Mexico will leave her position at the end of August. This decision came as a shock, and we are urgently pursuing all possible funding options. To put the need into perspective: although FlyBase is free to use, it is not free to make. It takes large teams of people and millions of dollars a year to create FlyBase to support fly research (the last NHGRI grant supported us with more than 2 million USD per annum). To help sustain FlyBase operations, we have been reaching out to you to ask for your support. We have set up a donation site in Cambridge, UK, to which European labs have and can continue to contribute, and a new donation site at IU to which labs in the US and the rest of the world can contribute. We urge researchers to work with their grant administrators to contribute to FlyBase via these sites if at all possible, as more of the money will go to FlyBase. However, we appreciate that some fu… https://wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase:Contribute_to_FlyBase Our immediate goals are: 1. To maintain core curation activities and keep the FlyBase website online 2. To complete integration with the Alliance of Genome Resources (The Alliance). Integration with the Alliance is essential for FlyBase’s long-term sustainability. For nearly a decade, NHGRI/NIH has supported the unification of Model Organism Databases (MODs) into the Alliance, which we aim to achieve by 2028. Therefore, securing bridge funding to sustain FlyBase over the next three years is crucial for successful integration and the long-term access to FlyBase data. At present, our remaining funds will allow us to keep the FlyBase website online for approximately one more year. Beyond that, its future is uncertain unless new funding is secured. We will, of course, continue pursuing additional grant opportunities as they arise. Given the uncertainty of future NIH or alternative funding sources, we are relying on the Fly community for support. Your contributions will directly help us retain the staff needed to complete this transition and to secure ongoing fly data curation into the Alliance beyond 2028. We at FlyBase are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the community during this challenging time. Your encouragement has strengthened our resolve and underscores how vital this resource remains to Drosophila research worldwide. Sincerely, The FlyBase Team
August 23, 2025 at 12:18 PM
vjrubenstein.bsky.social
Fall 2025 Rubenstein Lab. I am blessed to get to work with a great team of students. Looking forward to what we will learn together this year!
Selfie of professor (VJ) with students in his lab - James Avaala, Katrina Procuniar, Halie Barton, LiLi O'Malley, Sudhee Bommineni, Melissa Palackel, Olivia Crooks, Katie Lehman, and Kaikeyi Paxton
August 22, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
andrewstoehr.bsky.social
We're hiring TWO (two!) tenure-track assistant professors in my Biology department: cellular/molecular biology and plant biology. Within those categories, we are very open to research focus. Come work with me! And please spread the word! fa-exer-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Careers At Butler Careers
Welcome
fa-exer-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:07 AM
vjrubenstein.bsky.social
Bittersweet to say farewell to Emmanuel Akoto, who defended his MS thesis & graduated this summer.

Emmanuel made outstanding contributions to several projects & contributed to the growth & well-being of others around him.

I'm excited to watch him continue to grow in his new role at Eli Lilly!
Emmanuel pipetting some important liquid while wearing a Ball State sweater Emmanuel on his first day in the lab Emmanuel and the ceremonial dumping of the test tubes (a rite of passage of graduating lab members) Emmanuel and VJ posing together in the lab on Emmanuel's last day
August 14, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
joshilaboratory.bsky.social
Congratulations @maliramanlab.bsky.social!! Happy to have contributed to this study.
jcb.org Journal of Cell Biology @jcb.org · Jul 29
Montes et al. @maliramanlab.bsky.social @tufts.edu find the p97 ATPase and its adaptor UBXD8 maintain #peroxisome abundance by suppressing #pexophagy. p97-UBXD8 degrade ubiquitylated peroxisomal proteins to bypass recognition by #autophagy receptors. rupress.org/jcb/article/...

#Biochemistry
July 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
authorbillsullivan.com
Science in America is Dying. We Need Your Help to Keep it Alive.

America can’t be great without support for the sciences.

medium.com/p/99f78ab122ee
Science in America is Dying. We Need Your Help to Keep it Alive.
America can’t be great without support for the sciences.
medium.com
July 29, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
soleimanpourlab.bsky.social
Type 2 diabetes is often considered a protein misfolding disease. But where are these toxic proteins found? 🤔

🚨In new work out today in @natmetabolism.nature.com, we show that mitochondrial protein misfolding (yes mitos🤯) leads to beta cell damage in T2D. 🚨 nature.com/articles/s42... 1/n
LONP1 regulation of mitochondrial protein folding provides insight into beta cell failure in type 2 diabetes - Nature Metabolism
LONP1, whose expression is downregulated in islets from donors with type 2 diabetes, is vital to mediate efficient mitochondrial protein folding, thus preventing proteotoxicity and promoting islet β c...
nature.com
July 21, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
ktelliottmicro.bsky.social
🚨🚨🚨PUI TT Job Alert!!

My dept at TCNJ is hiring a tenure track cell and molecular biologist. Come join my supportive colleagues, helpful staff, & fabulous students!

We're surprisingly well resourced w/excellent equipment (confocal, SEM etc) and research w/students counts towards our teaching load!
Assistant Professor - Biology
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
tcnj.taleo.net
July 17, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
The Meselson and Stahl experiment demonstrated in 1958 that DNA replicated semi-conservatively.

Meaning, each of the two strands of DNA serves as a template for a new copy to made of the complementary strand.

Foundational finding, elegant experimental design.
The Meselson-Stahl Experiment, diagrammed to show the three possible outcomes: conservative, dispersive or semi-conservative.
July 8, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
gbosslet.bsky.social
Not a good look for Indiana

Humanities education is super important to a thriving civilization and economy

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/07/e...
Editorial: Indiana University, Ball State and Purdue are gutted without logic or thought
Taking an axe to degree programs at Indiana University makes no sense.
www.chicagotribune.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
fangferric.bsky.social
Letters in support of the NIH are somewhat more encouraging, as they are bipartisan (incl. 11 Repub Reps, 10 Repub Senators). The House letter recommends an 11% increase over FY25, whle the Senate letter simply states "strong and sustained funding." Fingers crossed.

www.aamc.org/advocacy-pol...
www.aamc.org
July 4, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
peiferlabunc.bsky.social
If you, like me, are confused about the relationship of the "Big Beautiful Bill" to the 2025-2026 Federal budget and its relevance to science funding and other issues, here is a GREAT explainer from my friend Kevin Wilson 🧪@ascbiology.bsky.social
July 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
ascbiology.bsky.social
The "Big Beautiful Bill" isn’t the federal budget—it’s a reconciliation bill focused on tax cuts. The real FY26 funding decisions for NIH, NSF, and more are happening now in Congress.

www.ascb.org/science-poli...
The "Big Beautiful Bill" is Not the Budget - ASCB
If you’ve read recent news about Congress trying to pass “the budget,” you may have noticed that even Washington, D.C. reporters don’t always have a firm grasp on the details of what they’re covering....
www.ascb.org
July 1, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
Our EMORY MARC T34 was just reinstated in response to recent court rulings!!!
July 2, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
inacademyofscience.bsky.social
Science With a Twist is back tonight! Follow the QR code to our website for more info and tickets.
June 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
vjrubenstein.bsky.social
Fireflies >>> Fireworks
skwinnicki.bsky.social SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · Jun 23
I was delighted to see one or two lightning bugs in my urban yard, but of course my mom’s yard (with all of its carefully maintained habitat) is putting on a show in comparison.

(You may need to turn your screen brightness up to see them though)
Eight green-white glowing dots on an otherwise black background, fireflies lighting up the dark yard.
June 23, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
jeremymberg.bsky.social
The findings at the recent trial and today's Columbia chaos is pushing me to the edge.

I just sent the following email...
June 18, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
jrhanlon.bsky.social
The NIH is getting most of the attention but this administration gutting funding across ALL areas of scientific research and investment, in EVERY FIELD. Say goodbye to America being a scientific and innovating leader in biology, physics, chemistry, math, etc. we’re talking 50-90% cuts to funding.
June 19, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Eric (“VJ”) Rubenstein
danielhurdiss.bsky.social
Latest preprint from the lab, many years in the making!

By combining #cryoEM with #AlphaFold3 modelling, we propose that norovirus NS3 forms a transmembrane RNA translocase.

This could have big implications for our understanding of viral replication & assembly (🧵)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 18, 2025 at 6:32 AM