John Rubinstein

MP Kirsty Duncan became a crusader for safety in sport A high achiever, she ran the Boston Marathon eight times, lifted weights and did triathlons, but it was her experience as a gymnast with body dysmorphia that inspired her to push for reforms to protec...

Dr. Kirsty Duncan - she lived every minute of her shortened life - and each was jam-packed. A huge loss. Gift link. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/46242ee...

The assay makes used of Bravo (Agilent), Combi (Thermo), and Echo (Beckmann) liquid handling, and a Synergy Neo (Agilent) plate reader.

A new frontier for our lab! After many months of development by postdoc @ranaabdelaziz.bsky.social (our resident medicinal chemistry - now also an excellent structural biologist) and the staff at the SickKids Drug Discovery platform, we're conducting our first proof-of-principle inhibitor screen.

The Canadian researcher whose discovery led to Ozempic is still making breakthroughs Tackling obesity, diabetes only the beginning for GLP-1s, which have been found to reduce risks of other major diseases

In the latest @theglobeandmail.com feature, Sinai Health’s Dr. @danieljdrucker.bsky.social is recognized for the discovery that helped lead to Ozempic - and the ongoing breakthroughs unfolding at Sinai Health today.

Read the full story here:

I don't think numerical resolution is the right thing to think about here.
If I want to say this Lys points 'up', the map density supports the claim that it extends in that direction.
(Random map/model I had open in ChimeraX, nominally 3.2 Å res'n but I don't know the local res'n)

Sign up now for the EMBO Workshop "The complexity of mycobacterial infections: From research to real-world impact" in #Paris, FR, 14–18 Sep 2026.

Registration by 25 Aug
Abstract submission by 15 May

https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-mycobacterial-infections
#EMBOComplexInfections #EMBOevents 🧪

As cryoEM becomes automated people forget
Just Because (JB) it's picked Doesn't Mean (DM) it's a ptcl
JB it's measured DM it's the CTF
JB it's a class ave DM it looks like the ptcls
JB it comes out of ab initio DM its the structure
JB FSC=0.143 DM that's the res'n
JB it's modeled DM it fits the map

Very excited for this in-person #CryoSPARC workshop in partnership with @sickkidsto.bsky.social and the Canadian #CryoEM Nexus! Register today!

Dear Colleagues, As part of the Canadian Cryo-EM Nexus, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Structura Biotechnology are hosting a two-day CryoSPARC workshop at SickKids in Toronto on April 30 and May 1, 2026. Led by experts from Structura, this workshop offers a unique opportunity for participants with prior CryoSPARC experience to deepen their skills and become a key resource for cryo-EM image analysis within their institutions. Applicants should have hands-on experience with CryoSPARC, demonstrated by having processed at least two datasets, and must be committed to sharing their expertise with colleagues upon returning to their home institution. There is no charge for participating in the workshop, which is sponsored by SickKids and Structura. Attendees will need to bring their own laptop computer and arrange for travel, accommodation, and meals. Given the limited capacity (15 students), we kindly request that interested individuals ensure that they can cover these costs before registering. Please register before February 20, 2026 using the following link: https://sickkids.cventevents.com/event/a0aebb07-66e6-4cbe-b471-8009fe0c227c/summary?i=97c975e9-4bac-42b9-a1b2-95974110db9e&tm=DXVv8zGvH5uA7nqj8lEF4iifi-ukLal5QBBjdXWGD2E&locale=en-US We look forward to welcoming you to this workshop. Sincerely, Samir Benlekbir and John Rubinstein (SickKids) & CryoSPARC Team (Structura)

@structurabio.bsky.social and @sickkidsto.bsky.social CryoSPARC workshop in Toronto!
April 30/May 1st 2026.
Part of the Canadian Cryo-EM Nexus.
Please register here: sickkids.cventevents.com/event/a0aebb...

In crystallography the model is (supposed to be) the best explanation of the data (model refined against diffraction) while in cryo-EM the map is (supposed to be) the best explanation of the data.
In cryo-EM its particularly easy to build a model that isn't supported by the data.

A rule I follow when reviewing cryo-EM manuscripts: if a claim relies on the orientation or interactions of a side chain, the evidence supporting the claim (ie the map density) must be shown.

In general, reviewers are responsible for ensuring claims in manuscripts are supported by data.

A stress-dependent postembryonic role for the core CPA factor CFIM-1 in germline integrity Abstract. Post-transcriptional processing of pre-mRNAs by alternative polyadenylation (APA) generates a diversity of transcript isoforms at the 3’ untransl

I am pleased to share our latest paper on the role of the alternative polyadenylation factor CFIM-1 (NUDT21) in C. elegans germline development. academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...

🚀 CryoSPARC v5.0 BETA is here!

We’re excited to deploy another major #CryoSPARC release to help enable and accelerate #cryoEM data analysis. v5 has a redesigned underlying software system and many new features - highlights in thread!

Full changelog: cryosparc.com/updates/v5.0.0

Former Liberal cabinet minister Kirsty Duncan dies at 59 OTTAWA — Former Liberal cabinet minister Kirsty Duncan has died at the age of 59 following a years-long battle with cancer. Born on Oct.

Gutted to learn of the passing of Dr Kirsty Duncan.

She was a tireless fighter for the people she served, not only her local community in Toronto but others, especially the science & research &
athletics communities too.

She championed equity, diversity, inclusion and made change happen.

🤍🙏🏻

New Preprint alert! Excited to share our latest work on the #MAPKinases from stellar PhD student Jill von Velsen. First structures of the MAP2K MEK1 activating its substrate MAPK between 2.9 and 3.6A - amazing resolutions for such a small and mobile complex! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF BIOLOGY OF MYOCBACTERIA GRC WILL BE IN 2028, NOT 2027. Exact date and location TBD. Sorry about the long wait, but we think it is better long term. PLEASE repost/tell your friends!

Moderna, Merck's skin cancer vaccine shows sustained benefit in five-year follow-up Moderna and Merck said on Tuesday their experimental personalized vaccine continued to cut the risk of death or recurrence of the most deadly skin cancer five years after the treatment started.

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Congratulations, Dawid!

Job alert! Assistant professor position in the Department of Molecular Genetics (University of Toronto). Amazing department and city. jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-... Please share.

Also: proofread carefully!
When I was first hiring a tech for my lab, one CV said that the applicant specialized in "shooting equipment". I presume they meant "troubleshooting equipment" but I felt I couldn't take that chance.

Western University is looking for a Canada Research Chair (CRC)
Tier 1 in Metabolomics. We are intent on building capacity in this system and the ideal candidate will help build infrastructure and mentor junior faculty.

Please see the job ad at: uwo.ca/facultyrelat...

Like most 🇨🇦 scientists, I believe Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program is an idiotic use of $ in an underfunded ecosystem
That said, $ is now on the table and Unis can take or leave it

If you want to start or move your lab to 🇨🇦, you're about to see lots of opportunities with excellent funding

OPPORTUNITY: McGill Plant Science is looking for an expert in plant pathology, plant breeding, or horticulture in the context of the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs Program (senior established researcher).
Contact: www.mcgill.ca/plant/contact
Program: lnkd.in/eavfNu7e

Please re-post.

Very pleased to be on the organizing committee of the EMBO course Structural Characterization of Macromolecular Complexes in 2026! We have a fantastic line up of speakers and tutors, please share widely!

👉apply here: www.embl.org/about/info/c...

I'm looking forward to speaking at this course (and finally seeing my PhD-labmate @mattbowler.bsky.social's institute in Grenoble)!

Congrats to our former summer student🥳

Gautier Courbon stands at a podium presenting the acknowledgements slide from his PhD defense talk.

Post exam reception for Gautier from members of the lab.

Congratulations to the new Doctor of Philosophy @courbongautier.bsky.social on a spectacular PhD defense following a groundbreaking PhD!
Thanks to external examiner Damian Ekiert from JHU and the rest of the examining committee.
Next stop, Oxford University for a postdoctoral fellowship.
🇫🇷🇨🇦🇬🇧

My name is Jeff meme with Altmetric replaced. Channing Tatum with his clothes on.

THREAD

The first full year of tracking research on @bsky.app

Hi, we are Altmetric, and we track how research is communicated across the web.

We now have one full calendar year of Bluesky research data and thought we'd have a looksie.

2026 Summer Intern - Agents for Structural Biology in South San Francisco, California, United States of America | Students & Graduates at Genentech Apply for 2026 Summer Intern - Agents for Structural Biology job with Genentech in South San Francisco, California, United States of America. Students & Graduates at Genentech

Internship opportunity! @jackn.bsky.social and I have opened two Summer Intern positions at Genentech to build structural biology agents. If you are a (pre-PhD) #cryoEM or #Xray structural biologist with strong computational skills & motivation, please apply!

John (left) tries to get his lab to place the field emission gun on top of the column of the lab's new Tecnai F20 microscope (circa 2007). PhD student Wilson Lau (now Associate Prof, Hong Kong Polytechnic University), lab manager Stephanie Bueler (still managing the lab), and PhD student Lindsay Baker (now Associate Prof, Oxford University) make a valiant effort.

The lab decides that John should try it himself...

Lindsay Baker (while an undergraduate summer student), John, and Stephanie pose in front of the Hospital's moose, summer 2006.

Some of the earliest photos from the lab...