Richard A. Rachubinski

Key takeaways

Richard A. Rachubinski belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard A. Rachubinski to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard A. Rachubinski from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard A. Rachubinski is a Canadian cell biologist and academic. He serves as a Professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Cell Biology. Rachubinski's research centers on understanding how peroxisomes—essential organelles involved in lipid metabolism, redox balance, and cellular detoxification—are assembled, maintained, and inherited during cell division. Using model organisms such as Yarrowia lipolytica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Drosophila melanogaster, his lab has uncovered fundamental genetic and molecular pathways that govern peroxisome biogenesis and inheritance. A major focus of Rachubinski's work has been elucidating the mechanisms of peroxisomal protein targeting and import. He was among the first to demonstrate that peroxisomes can import fully folded, and even oligomeric, protein complexes—including dimers like thiolase—challenging the prevailing dogma that proteins must unfold to cross organellar membranes. These findings fundamentally reshaped the understanding of protein trafficking and organelle biology. In addition to defining peroxisomal biogenesis and function, Rachubinski has advanced understanding of the cross-talk between peroxisomes and other organelles—including the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria—shedding light on how organelles coordinate lipid metabolism, redox balance, and organelle dynamics within the cellular network. His work has also elucidated how peroxisomes respond dynamically to physiological cues, including transcriptional regulation and metabolic conditions that induce peroxisome proliferation, offering insights into how cells adapt organelle abundance and function to environmental and cellular demands. He has played a leading role in the discovery and functional characterization of peroxins (PEX proteins), which are required for peroxisome assembly and matrix protein import. This research has had important translational implications: by defining the genetic and biochemical basis of peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs), his work has contributed to better diagnosis and mechanistic understanding of these rare but severe pediatric diseases. More recently, his lab has explored how peroxisomes influence innate immune signaling pathways and inflammatory responses, broadening the scope of peroxisome biology to include immunometabolism and host-pathogen interactions. Beyond his research, Rachubinski has served as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Alberta for over two decades. His contributions to science and education have been recognized with numerous awards, including being named an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the recipient of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences Senior Investigator Award.

Selected articles Glover, JR, Andrews, DW, & Rachubinski, RA (1994). Saccharomyces cerevisiae peroxisomal thiolase is imported as a dimer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 91(22), 10541–10545. Fagarasanu, M, Fagarasanu, A, Tam, YYC, Aitchison, JD, & Rachubinski, RA (2005). Inp1p is a peroxisomal membrane protein required for peroxisome inheritance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The Journal of Cell Biology, 169(5), 765–775. Fagarasanu, A, Fagarasanu, M, & Rachubinski, RA (2007). Maintaining peroxisome populations: A story of division and inheritance. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology, 23, 321–344. Nath AS, Parsons BD, Makdissi S, Chilvers RL, Mu Y, Weaver CM, Euodia I, Fitze KA, Long J, Scur M, Mackenzie DP, Makrigiannis AP, Pichaud N, Boudreau LH, Simmonds AJ, Webber CA, Derfalvi B, Hammon Y, Rachubinski RA, Di Cara F. (2022). Modulation of the cell membrane lipid milieu by peroxisomal β-oxidation induces Rho1 signaling to trigger inflammatory responses. Cell Reports, 38(9), 110355. Di Cara, F, Bülow, MH, Simmonds, AJ, & Rachubinski, RA (2018). Dysfunctional peroxisomes compromise gut structure and host defense by increased cell death and Tor-dependent autophagy. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 29(22), 2766–2783. Di Cara, F, Savary, S, Kovacs, WJ, Kim, P, Rachubinski, RA (2023). The peroxisome: an up-and-coming organelle in immunometabolism. Trends in Immunology, 44(4), 290–302. Eitzen, GA, Szilard, RK, & Rachubinski, RA (1997). Enlarged peroxisomes are present in oleic acid-grown Yarrowia lipolytica overexpressing the PEX16 gene encoding an intraperoxisomal peripheral membrane peroxin. Journal of Cell Biology, 137(6), 1265–1278. Mast, FD, Li, J, Virk, MK, Hughes, SC, Simmonds, AJ, Rachubinski RA (2011). A Drosophila model for the Zellweger spectrum of peroxisome biogenesis disorders. Dis Model Mech, (5):659-72. Tam YYC, Rachubinski, RA (2002). Yarrowia lipolytica cells mutant for the PEX24 gene encoding a peroxisomal membrane peroxin mislocalize peroxisomal proteins and accumulate membrane structures containing both peroxisomal matrix and membrane proteins. Mol Biol Cell,(8):2681-91. Mast FD, Rachubinski, RA, Aitchison, JD (2016). Signaling dynamics and peroxisomes. Curr Opin Cell Biol., (35):131-136. Rachubinski RA, Verma DP, Bergeron JJ (1980). Synthesis of rat liver microsomal cytochrome b5 by free ribosomes. J. Cell Biol., (3):705-716

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard A. Rachubinski

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard A. Rachubinski claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard A. Rachubinski before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard A. Rachubinski ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard A. Rachubinski

In research: Richard A. Rachubinski appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard A. Rachubinski in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard A. Rachubinski is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American academics, Academic staff of the University of Alberta, Cell biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard A. Rachubinski outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Richard A. Rachubinski in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard A. Rachubinski means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard A. Rachubinski out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard A. Rachubinski in simple terms?

Richard A. Rachubinski is a Canadian cell biologist and academic.

Why does Richard A. Rachubinski matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard A. Rachubinski?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard A. Rachubinski.