1. ✦ Ant genomics and transcriptomics
   

2. ✦ Evolutionary history and genetic basis of acacia-ant mutualisms
   

3. ✦ Microbiomes of ant mutualists
   

4. ✦ The use of next-generation sequencing in phylogenetics

Benjamin E.R. Rubin

Committee on Evolutionary Biology
University of Chicago
Culver Hall 402
1025 E. 57th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

and

Field Museum of Natural History
Department of Zoology
Division of Insects
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605 USA
Office: (312) 665-7776
Email: brubin@fieldmuseum.org

EDUCATION
(2009 - Forward) Ph.D. Candidate University of Chicago. Committee on Evolutionary Biology. Advisor: Dr. Corrie Moreau

(2005 - 2009) B.A. Cornell University. Biology, Neurobiology and Behavior concentration, summa cum laude with distinction in all subjects. Advisor: Dr. Irby Lovette

PUBLICATIONS
- Rubin, B.E.R, Anderson, R.M., Kennedy, D., Palmer, T.M., Stanton, M.L., & Lovette, I.J. (2013). Polygyny in the nest-site limited acacia-ant Crematogaster mimosae. Insectes Sociaux 60: 231-241. Rubin_et_al._2013_Insect_Soc.pdf

- Moreau, C. S., Wray, B. D., Czekanski-Moir, J. E., & Rubin, B. E. R. (2013). DNA preservation: A test of commonly used preservatives for insects. Invertebrate Systematics 27: 81-86. Moreau_et_al._2013_Invert_Syst.pdf

- Kautz S., Rubin B. E. R., Russell, J. A. & Moreau C. S. (2013). Surveying the microbiome of ants: Comparing 454 pyrosequencing with traditional methods to uncover bacterial diversity. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Kautz_et_al._2013_AEM.pdf

- Rubin, B. E. R., Ree, R. H. & Moreau, C. S. (2012). Inferring phylogenies from RAD sequence data. PLOS ONE 7(4) e33394. Rubin_et_al._PLoS_ONE_2012.pdf

- Rubin, B.E., Makarewich, C.A., Talaba, A.L., Stenzler, L., Bogdanowicz, S.M., Lovette, I.J. (2009). Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers from the acacia-ant Crematogaster mimosae. Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 1212-1214.  Rubin_et_al._2009.pdf

- Rubin, B.E.R, Gibbons, S.M. , Kennedy, S., Hampton-Marcel. J., Owens, S. M., Jansson, J., Knight, R., &  Gilbert, J. A. (Submitted). Investigating the impact of storage conditions on microbial community composition in soil samples.

- Birkhead, T.R., Rubin, B.E.R, Talaba, A.L., Krupa, A., Dawson, D.A., Carling, M.D., Lovette, I.J., Burke, T. (In Prep). Lovelorn lovebirds: Parthenogenesis in the lovebird Agapornis roseicollis. 

PRESENTATIONS
- Rubin, B.E., Lovette, I.J. Colony Structure of an African Acacia-Ant. Poster, International Society for Behavioral Ecology meeting, August 2008.

1. - Rubin, B.E., Palmer, T., Stanton, M., Lovette, I.J. Polygyny and competition in the acacia-ant, Crematogaster mimosae. Poster, Entomological Society of America meeting, December 2009.
   

2. - Kautz S., Rubin B.E., Moreau C.S. Evaluating methods to assess microbe diversity in ants: trade-offs between traditional approaches and 454 pyrosequencing. Oral presentation, Social Insect meetings (International Union for the Study of Social Insects), Copenhagen, Denmark, August 2010.
   

3. - Rubin B.E.R., Kautz S., Emery V., Moreau C.S. Evolution of mutualism in acacia-ants. EntSoc 58th annual meeting. San Diego, CA, USA. Oral presentation, December 2010.
   

4. - Kautz S., Rubin B.E.R., Moreau C.S. Survey of bacterial diversity in the giant neotropical bullet ant Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) using 454 pyrosequencing. EntSoc 58th annual meeting. San Diego, CA, USA. Oral presentation, December 2010.
   

5. - Zufan S., Wray B.D., Rubin B.E.R., Kautz S., Moreau C.S. Evolutionary histories of bacterial endosymbionts and their herbivorous ant hosts. EntSoc 58th annual meeting. San Diego, CA, USA. Poster presentation, December 2010.
   

- Kautz S., Rubin B.E.R., Moreau C.S. Surveying the microbiome using 454 sequencing: Diversity and putative functions of bacteria in ants. EntSoc 59th annual meeting. Reno, NV, USA. Oral presentation, November 2011.

1. -Rubin B.E.R., Kautz S., Moreau C.S. Genomic and dietary consequences of plant-ant mutualism. EntSoc 59th annual meeting. Reno, NV, USA. Oral presentation, November 2011.
   

1. -Poster Presentation: Rubin, B.E.R., Kautz, S., & Moreau, C.S. (2012). The genome of the arboreal ant, Pseudomyrmex gracilis. Entomological Society of America Meeting, Knoxville, TN.
   

GRANTS, HONORS & AWARDS
- NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) - 2013 - 2014

1. -Field Museum Brown Family Graduate Student Fellowship - 2013
   

2. -NSF Graduate Research Fellowship - 2010-2013
   

3. -American Genetic Association support grant to attend i5k Genomics Community Workshop - 2012
   

4. -UChicago Biological Sciences Division Travel Fund for travel to academic conference - 2011 
   

5. -Field Museum Pritzker Laboratory grant for purchase of genomics analysis server - 2011
   

6. -Field Museum Pritzker Laboratory research grant - 2011
   

7. -University of Chicago Hinds Fund Research Award - 2010 & 2011
   

8. -Cornell University Highest honors for undergraduate thesis - 2009
   

9. -Explorer's Club Youth Activity Fund for research in Kenya - 2008
   

10. -Cornell Hughes Scholar - 2008
    

TEACHING EXPERIENCE & OUTREACH

1. -Teaching assistant for "Reconstructing the Tree of Life: An Introduction to Phylogenetics" (Fall 2011)
   

2. -Teaching assistant for "The Public and Private Lives of Insects" (Winter 2011)
   

3. -Teaching assistant for UChicago Desert Ecology field course in American Southwest (June 2010, 2011)
   

4. -Co-supervision of the following students: NSF REU undergraduate student - Sara Zufan (Summer 2010), CIRRUS (Chicago Initiative for Research and Recruitment in Undergraduate Science) undergraduate student - Ariadne Lumayag (Summer 2010), NSF REU undergraduate student - William Montag (Summer 2010 & 2011), high school intern - Alexandra Gray (Summer 2010) , and high school intern - Katherine McDonnell (Summer 2012)
   

5. -University of Chicago Committee on Evolutionary Biology spotlight student of the month (March 2013): http://evbio.uchicago.edu/site/spotlight/benjamin_rubin
   

6. -Field Museum's Pritzer Lab Facebook featured scientist (January 2011)
   

7. -Member of the AntWeb AntBlog AntAsk team: http://www.antweb.org/antblog/
   

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

- UChicago Committee on Evolutionary Biology's computer and equipment administrator - 2012 forward

- Genotyping-By-Sequencing training workshop - February 2012

- NESCent Next-gen sequencing computational training course - August 2011

- Ant Course at Southwestern Research Station - August 2011

- Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions OTS course at La Selva Research Station - January 2010

- Field Museum Pritzker Laboratory genomics analysis server administrator - 2011 forward

FIELD EXPERIENCE

- Costa Rica field expedition - June 2012

- Florida Keys field expedition - September 2011

- Peru field expedition - October 2010

- Kenya field expedition - July 2008

- Field observation of common loons in Wisconsin - Summer 2007