Rate My Professor Justin Holub

Justin M. Holub is an Associate Professor and Online Graduate Recruitment Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ohio University, where he is affiliated with the Molecular & Cellular Biology program and the Biochemistry Research Facility. He received his B.S. from Rider University, Ph.D. from New York University, and conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University. His research specializes in chemical biology, focusing on the design and synthesis of non-natural molecules such as synthetic biologics and profluorescent ligands to probe and manipulate protein-protein interactions. Current projects in the Holub Laboratory include developing scyllatoxin-based scaffolds grafted with BH3 domains to target anti-apoptotic Bcl2 proteins, peptide mimetics of the tau R1 domain to inhibit MARK2-mediated phosphorylation for Alzheimer's disease research, and helical peptides that antagonize the human growth hormone receptor to study acromegaly. Additional efforts involve using bisarsenical dyes to monitor ligand-mediated conformational changes, such as helix 12 dynamics in the estrogen receptor.

Promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in April 2019, Holub has obtained significant funding, including an NSF MRI Grant (#2018802) for a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer, NIH R15 (#1R15AG098725-01) and R21 (#1R21AG081962-01) awards, and multiple Ohio University PACE, Baker Fund, and Original Work Grants. His scholarly output includes over 30 publications, with highly cited works such as "Tricks with clicks: Modification of peptidomimetic oligomers via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition" (Chemical Society Reviews, 2010; 382 citations), "Arginine topology controls escape of minimally cationic proteins from early endosomes to the cytoplasm" (Chemistry & Biology, 2012; 229 citations), "Small scaffolds, big potential: Developing miniature proteins as therapeutic agents" (Drug Development Research, 2017), and recent articles on BH3 mimetics (Protein Journal, 2018), tau inhibitors (International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics, 2018), and growth hormone antagonists (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2021; Endocrinology, 2026). He serves as an editorial board member for Protein & Peptide Letters and has presented at ACS National Meetings and the International Peptide Symposium.