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
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
@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
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
#NewResearch
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structure-guided design of a synthetic bile acid that inhibits Clostridioides difficile TcdB toxin - Nature Microbiology
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated Clostridioides difficile infection in mice.
www.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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
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
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
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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 18, 2025 at 10:43 PM
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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Apply for the 'Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Cell Research' at UBC. Come join the dynamic research community in Vancouver 🇨🇦!
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
November 18, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Apply for the 'Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Cell Research' at UBC. Come join the dynamic research community in Vancouver 🇨🇦!
Reposted by John Rubinstein
With the Wilmanns lab @embl.org we reveal cryoEM structures of an essential, bifunctional acyl-CoA carboxylase from mycobacteria. @wertheimufscripps.bsky.social
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
With the Wilmanns lab @embl.org we reveal cryoEM structures of an essential, bifunctional acyl-CoA carboxylase from mycobacteria. @wertheimufscripps.bsky.social
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Never ceases to amaze me how structures reveal their secrets to multiple groups at nearly the same instant.
Congratulations to @luizcarvalholab.bsky.social and the Willmann's lab on their structures of the long chain acyl-CoA carboxylase complex!!
Will be interesting to compare.
Congratulations to @luizcarvalholab.bsky.social and the Willmann's lab on their structures of the long chain acyl-CoA carboxylase complex!!
Will be interesting to compare.
With the Wilmanns lab @embl.org we reveal cryoEM structures of an essential, bifunctional acyl-CoA carboxylase from mycobacteria. @wertheimufscripps.bsky.social
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Never ceases to amaze me how structures reveal their secrets to multiple groups at nearly the same instant.
Congratulations to @luizcarvalholab.bsky.social and the Willmann's lab on their structures of the long chain acyl-CoA carboxylase complex!!
Will be interesting to compare.
Congratulations to @luizcarvalholab.bsky.social and the Willmann's lab on their structures of the long chain acyl-CoA carboxylase complex!!
Will be interesting to compare.
Reposted by John Rubinstein
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hydrophilic metformin and hydrophobic biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex I by distinct mechanisms - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
He, Teng and Yang et al. report how metformin, the widely used antidiabetic drug, inhibit its target, the respiratory complex I, through a distinct state-dependent, inhibitor trapping mechanism, thus ...
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers
Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social.
S-layers are everywhere!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social.
S-layers are everywhere!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers - Nature Reviews Microbiology
Surface layers (S-layers) are ubiquitous protein assemblies that coat prokaryotic cells, with their functional roles increasingly coming into focus. In this Review, Isbilir and colleagues discuss rece...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers
Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social.
S-layers are everywhere!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social.
S-layers are everywhere!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
When a man hijacked a bus in Hamilton, Ontario, on Tuesday, the potentially catastrophic scenario ended happily. It turns out he was a pretty decent bus driver. He made regular stops to pick up passengers, the police reported. At one point someone tried to board with an expired bus pass. No dice.
A Man Took a Bus for a Joyride. Turns Out, He’s Not a Bad Driver.
The incident in Hamilton, Ontario, ended safely with an arrest and no injuries (and all fares paid).
nyti.ms
November 13, 2025 at 4:50 PM
When a man hijacked a bus in Hamilton, Ontario, on Tuesday, the potentially catastrophic scenario ended happily. It turns out he was a pretty decent bus driver. He made regular stops to pick up passengers, the police reported. At one point someone tried to board with an expired bus pass. No dice.
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Exciting to see a new compound showing promise against malaria.
As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater.
tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social
.
As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater.
tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social
.
November 13, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Exciting to see a new compound showing promise against malaria.
As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater.
tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social
.
As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater.
tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social
.
Reposted by John Rubinstein
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
@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
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
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
@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
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
@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
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
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
@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
I was a PhD student at LMB at the time and remember it well. Ribosome breakthroughs every few months. New students and postdocs with Venki would join his lab and have their structures published on the cover of Nature or Science within the year.
It was really freakin' annoying!
🥰
It was really freakin' annoying!
🥰
25 years on from publishing the structure of the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit, alumni, collaborators & friends of Venki Ramakrishnan’s group joined us for a symposium celebrating the legacy of this work.
Read about the event and find photos here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/25-years-of-...
#LMBNews
Read about the event and find photos here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/25-years-of-...
#LMBNews
October 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I was a PhD student at LMB at the time and remember it well. Ribosome breakthroughs every few months. New students and postdocs with Venki would join his lab and have their structures published on the cover of Nature or Science within the year.
It was really freakin' annoying!
🥰
It was really freakin' annoying!
🥰
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Fantastic opportunity at The Hospital for Sick Children. Please repost. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
SCIENTIST – Developmental, Stem Cell & Cancer Biology Program - Toronto (City), Ontario (CA) job with The Hospital for Sick Children - Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program | 12848200
Discovery-based and/or translational research using model organism genetics and/or stem cell and organoid platforms to study paediatric cancer.
www.nature.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Fantastic opportunity at The Hospital for Sick Children. Please repost. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Learn how our hunt for the native structure of top antimalarial target PfATP4🧂led to the discovery of PfABP, an unknown essential binding partner, out now! @natcomms.nature.com 👉 rdcu.be/eLRlH 🦠🔬❄️
A team effort led by @mehsehret.bsky.social & Anurag Shukla @akhilvaidya.bsky.social! #cryoEM #malaria
A team effort led by @mehsehret.bsky.social & Anurag Shukla @akhilvaidya.bsky.social! #cryoEM #malaria
Endogenous structure of antimalarial target PfATP4 reveals an apicomplexan-specific P-type ATPase modulator
Nature Communications - Here, the authors present the 3.7 Å cryoEM structure of native sodium efflux pump PfATP4 from Plasmodium falciparum, revealing a bound protein that they term...
rdcu.be
October 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Learn how our hunt for the native structure of top antimalarial target PfATP4🧂led to the discovery of PfABP, an unknown essential binding partner, out now! @natcomms.nature.com 👉 rdcu.be/eLRlH 🦠🔬❄️
A team effort led by @mehsehret.bsky.social & Anurag Shukla @akhilvaidya.bsky.social! #cryoEM #malaria
A team effort led by @mehsehret.bsky.social & Anurag Shukla @akhilvaidya.bsky.social! #cryoEM #malaria
Reposted by John Rubinstein
🚀 Introducing fully automated data processing for repeat-target #cryoEM.
Using new tools in #CryoSPARC, it is now possible to obtain resolutions & map quality equal to or better than manual processing, with zero user intervention.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Using new tools in #CryoSPARC, it is now possible to obtain resolutions & map quality equal to or better than manual processing, with zero user intervention.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
🚀 Introducing fully automated data processing for repeat-target #cryoEM.
Using new tools in #CryoSPARC, it is now possible to obtain resolutions & map quality equal to or better than manual processing, with zero user intervention.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Using new tools in #CryoSPARC, it is now possible to obtain resolutions & map quality equal to or better than manual processing, with zero user intervention.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
End-to-end automation of repeat-target cryo-EM structure determination in CryoSPARC https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.17.682689v1
October 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
End-to-end automation of repeat-target cryo-EM structure determination in CryoSPARC https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.17.682689v1
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Nominations for the June Almeida award for Mid/Senior-Career Women in Cryo-EM are now open! Submit your nomination via this link www.biophysics.org/awards-fundi... by November 14th to recognize an exceptional woman in our community.
Subgroup Awards - The Biophysical Society
www.biophysics.org
October 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Nominations for the June Almeida award for Mid/Senior-Career Women in Cryo-EM are now open! Submit your nomination via this link www.biophysics.org/awards-fundi... by November 14th to recognize an exceptional woman in our community.
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Now out in Science! Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of the cell cycle. In @vcushing.bsky.social's magnum opus, we use #cryoEM to figure out how the CDK-activating kinase recognises CDKs to fully activate them - a key step in cell cycle control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Structural basis of T-loop–independent recognition and activation of CDKs by the CDK-activating kinase
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are prototypical regulators of the cell cycle. The CDK-activating kinase (CAK) acts as a master regulator of CDK activity by catalyzing the activating phosphorylation o...
www.science.org
October 16, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Now out in Science! Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of the cell cycle. In @vcushing.bsky.social's magnum opus, we use #cryoEM to figure out how the CDK-activating kinase recognises CDKs to fully activate them - a key step in cell cycle control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
9 days to go:
* 2 x open positions!
* Exceptional environment, competitive start-up package
* University of Toronto appointments
* Toronto has great (and peaceful) quality of life!
* 2 x open positions!
* Exceptional environment, competitive start-up package
* University of Toronto appointments
* Toronto has great (and peaceful) quality of life!
JOB ALERT 🚨 We are hiring TWO principal investigators in cell, molecular, systems, or chemical biology in Toronto, Canada at @sinaihealth.bsky.social. We provide a generous startup, fully funded salary and academic appointment at U of Toronto.
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Please repost!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Please repost!
October 11, 2025 at 12:40 PM
9 days to go:
* 2 x open positions!
* Exceptional environment, competitive start-up package
* University of Toronto appointments
* Toronto has great (and peaceful) quality of life!
* 2 x open positions!
* Exceptional environment, competitive start-up package
* University of Toronto appointments
* Toronto has great (and peaceful) quality of life!
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Come join us at @westernu.ca: Chair, Department of Medical Biophysics: www.uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
www.uwo.ca
October 10, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Come join us at @westernu.ca: Chair, Department of Medical Biophysics: www.uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
I'm excited to report that a species has been named after my son Ze Frank, "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to science communication, which have inspired curiosity, wonder, and deeper public engagement with the natural world"
October 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I'm excited to report that a species has been named after my son Ze Frank, "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to science communication, which have inspired curiosity, wonder, and deeper public engagement with the natural world"
Reposted by John Rubinstein
Our cryo-EM structure of the intermediate state of the KCNQ1 potassium channel is out. Collaborative effort with the David Fedida and Luca Maragliano labs. Cryo-EM work spearheaded by Efthimios Kyriakis, PhD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 3, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Our cryo-EM structure of the intermediate state of the KCNQ1 potassium channel is out. Collaborative effort with the David Fedida and Luca Maragliano labs. Cryo-EM work spearheaded by Efthimios Kyriakis, PhD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Rubinstein
EXCITING NEWS!! We're searching for a new professor colleague at the Biozentrum🇨🇭. Ideal candidates are exploring novel biological questions with structure, biophysics, or high-resolution imaging. 🧪 🧶🧬 🔬
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
September 30, 2025 at 9:52 AM
EXCITING NEWS!! We're searching for a new professor colleague at the Biozentrum🇨🇭. Ideal candidates are exploring novel biological questions with structure, biophysics, or high-resolution imaging. 🧪 🧶🧬 🔬
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
