Dr. Rubin’s Current Research Program

Footnote: if you want to read these studies, first of all you need to understand the vocabulary: order papers online to understand what Mycobacterium tuberculosis is.

Dr. Rubin’s current research program is on:

1. the genetic and biochemical mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of dormancy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
2. on the oxidative phosphorylation pathways of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Category A and B bacterial pathogens, and
3. the development of new antibacterial drugs.

His research has been funded by the NIH, NSF, DARPA and by the non-profit Global Alliance for TB Drug Development.  In addition to his work on the basic biochemistry of the disease, he has extended the investigations to mathematical modeling of complex biological systems and to translational research in drug discovery for bacterial infections. His research has resulted in more than 90 peer-reviewed papers chapters or reviews, 12 patents and a recently filed patent disclosure on the mechanism of action and synthesis of new antibacterial agents. Dr. Rubin served on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) with membership on the subcommittees on international issues and synthetic biology. He was a member Science Community conference–FBI/National Security Higher Education Advisory Board (NSHEAB), the National Academy of Sciences/DOD Biological Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, the NSF Steering Committee on Cyberphysical Systems and one of six US scientists on the US mission to the U.S.-France-Iran Workshop on Science, Ethics, and Appropriate Uses of Technology organized by the US, France, and Iranian Academies of Science.  He served on the working group on antibiotic resistance for the Center for Global Development and a member of the World Economic Forum Council on Pandemics. He is the founder of Energize the Chain, a non-profit organization dedicated to extending the vaccine cold chain to remote parts of the globe to provide lifesaving vaccines to underserved populations (www.energizethechain.org). He is also the founder and Director of the Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis & Response  (ISTAR). The mission of ISTAR is global–addressing strategies and responses to intentional as well as unintentional threats. Some of the areas under investigation  include: the dynamics of urban preparedness; international treaties and compacts for infectious diseases, protection of the physical and information infrastructures; risk assessment and public communication in times of crises; emerging  infectious diseases and agents of bioterrorism; health care delivery and public health systems under crisis situations;  curriculum development to teach the response to all hazards; and economic models of the consequences of pandemics and other disasters . ISTAR is leading the effort to develop a global governance structure to address issues of pandemics, emerging infectious diseases and international security.  To this end, The Hague Institute for Global Justice (THIGJ) commissioned ISTAR to conduct a study to identify the gaps and inconsistencies in existing international legal structures dealing with infectious diseases.