John Burke, University of Victoria

Research

Lipid Signalling X-Ray Crystallography Protein-Protein Interactions Malaria Mass Spectrometry Mechanism Of Viral Infection Membrane Trafficking Phosphatidylinositol 4 Kinases

Latest papers

Selective inhibition of MR1-restricted T cell activation by a novel MR1-targeting nanobody.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
Evaluation of Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with immunotherapies or targeted therapies: protocol for a single-arm, mixed-methods pilot study.
BMJ open · 2023
Discovery and Preclinical Characterization of 5-[4,6-Bis({3-oxa-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl})-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]-4-(difluoromethyl)pyridin-2-amine (PQR620), a Highly Potent and Selective mTORC1/2 Inhibitor for Cancer and Neurological Disorders.
Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2018

All 3 publications

Latest funding

mechanistic studies of rab signaling
CIHR · 2024 · Supervisor
$6,000
Structural basis of PI4KA regulation and its roles in human disease
CIHR · 2024 · Nominated PI
$994,500
Structural studies of membrane trafficking
CIHR · 2023 · Supervisor
$6,000

All 13 grants and awards

3 publications.

01

Selective inhibition of MR1-restricted T cell activation by a novel MR1-targeting nanobody.

Bates T, Kulicke C, Gurmessa S, Kim SJ, Suresh S, Reyes-Weinstein J, Hinchliff A, Burke J, Lewinsohn D, Tafesse FG

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

DOI: 10.1101/2025.06.11.659204 PMID: 40589544

02

Evaluation of Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with immunotherapies or targeted therapies: protocol for a single-arm, mixed-methods pilot study.

Lynch FA, Rodin G, Jefford M, Duffy M, Lai-Kwon J, Heynemann S, Mileshkin L, Briggs L, Burke J, Leigh L, Spelman T, Ftanou M

BMJ open2023

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072322 PMID: 37524546

03

Discovery and Preclinical Characterization of 5-[4,6-Bis({3-oxa-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl})-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]-4-(difluoromethyl)pyridin-2-amine (PQR620), a Highly Potent and Selective mTORC1/2 Inhibitor for Cancer and Neurological Disorders.

Rageot D, Bohnacker T, Melone A, Langlois JB, Borsari C, Hillmann P, Sele AM, Beaufils F, Zvelebil M, Hebeisen P, Löscher W, Burke J, Fabbro D, Wymann MP

Journal of medicinal chemistry2018

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01262 PMID: 30359003

mechanistic studies of rab signaling

SupervisorCIHR2024Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

Principal investigators: Akintola, Damilola

Keywords: Cancer; Effector Protein; Enzyme; Gtpases; Molecular Biology; Neurodegenerative Disease

$6,000

Structural basis of PI4KA regulation and its roles in human disease

Nominated PICIHR2024Project Grant

Principal investigators: Burke, John E

Keywords: Cryo Electron Microscopy; Hydrogen Deuterium Excahange Mass Spectrometry; Phosophoinositide 4 Kinases; Protein-Protein Interactions; Single Molecule Biophysics; Structural Biology

$994,500

Structural studies of membrane trafficking

SupervisorCIHR2023Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

Principal investigators: Akintola, Damilola

Keywords: Aging; Biology; Cancer; Disease; Enzymes; Molecular; Molecular Biology; Neurodegenerative; Protein; Spectrometry

$6,000

Advanced liquid handling for hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

Principal investigatorNSERC2023Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Burke, John

$150,000

How are lipid signalling complexes assembled on membranes

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Burke, John

$348,000

How are lipid signalling complexes assembled on membranes

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Principal investigators: Burke, John

$120,000

Advanced bio-molecular interaction facility

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Burke, John

$138,931

Defining the molecular basis of regulation of PI3K gamma and its role in immune function and the tumour microenvironment

Nominated PICIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: Burke, John E

Keywords: Crosslinking Mass Spectrometry; Electron Microscopy; Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry; Lipid Signalling; Nanobodies; Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases; Phosphoinosities; Protein-Protein Interactions; Structure Based Drug Design; X-Ray Crystallography

$956,250

Advanced protein purification facility

Co-investigatorNSERC2019Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Boraston, Alisdair

$129,635

Multimode microplate reader and automated liquids handling system

Co-investigatorNSERC2016Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Hof, Fraser

$150,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Gary Rodin

Epidemiology Division

1 shared papers, latest 2023

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Lipid Signalling Dear Professor Burke, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Selective inhibition of MR1-restricted T cell activation by a novel MR1-targeting nanobody." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Structural basis of PI4KA regulation and its roles in human disease" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]