Costin Antonescu, Toronto Metropolitan University

Research

Akt Image Analysis Phosphoinositides Cell Surface Breast Cancer Adaptor Proteins Microscopy Nanodomains

Latest papers

FASN inhibitor TVB-3166 prevents S-acylation of the spike protein of human coronaviruses.
Journal of lipid research · 2022
Small Rho GTPases and the Effector VipA Mediate the Invasion of Epithelial Cells by Filamentous Legionella pneumophila.
Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2018
Ultrasound and microbubble induced release from intracellular compartments.
BMC biotechnology · 2017

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes
CIHR · 2025 · Nominated PI
$100,000
Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes
CIHR · 2025 · Nominated PI
$1,036,575
Resolving the mechanism of EGFR and IR regulation by tetraspanins in triple-negative breast cancer.
CIHR · 2025 · Supervisor
$120,000

All 24 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

FASN inhibitor TVB-3166 prevents S-acylation of the spike protein of human coronaviruses.

Mekhail K, Lee M, Sugiyama M, Astori A, St-Germain J, Latreille E, Khosraviani N, Wei K, Li Z, Rini J, Lee WL, Antonescu C, Raught B, Fairn GD

Journal of lipid research2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.jlr.2022.100256 PMID: 35921881

02

Small Rho GTPases and the Effector VipA Mediate the Invasion of Epithelial Cells by Filamentous Legionella pneumophila.

Prashar A, Ortiz ME, Lucarelli S, Barker E, Tabatabeiyazdi Z, Shamoun F, Raju D, Antonescu C, Guyard C, Terebiznik MR

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2018

DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00133 PMID: 29774203

03

Ultrasound and microbubble induced release from intracellular compartments.

Hussein F, Antonescu C, Karshafian R

BMC biotechnology2017

DOI: 10.1186/s12896-017-0364-3 PMID: 28521780

04

GAPDH binds GLUT4 reciprocally to hexokinase-II and regulates glucose transport activity.

Zaid H, Talior-Volodarsky I, Antonescu C, Liu Z, Klip A

The Biochemical journal2009

DOI: 10.1042/bj20081319 PMID: 19140804

Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes

Nominated PICIHR2025Project Grant - PA: Breast Cancer Research

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin N

Keywords: Adaptor Proteins; Akt; Breast Cancer; Cell Surface; Image Analysis; Microscopy; Nanodomains; Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase; Phosphoinositides

$100,000

Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes

Nominated PICIHR2025Project Grant

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin N

Keywords: Adaptor Proteins; Akt; Breast Cancer; Cell Surface; Image Analysis; Microscopy; Nanodomains; Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase; Phosphoinositides

$1,036,575

Resolving the mechanism of EGFR and IR regulation by tetraspanins in triple-negative breast cancer.

SupervisorCIHR2025DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Principal investigators: Kamil, Sahar A

Keywords: Breast Cancer; Cell Signaling; Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor; Fluorescence Microscopy; Image Analysis; Insulin Receptor; Signal Transduction; Single-Particle Tracking

$120,000

Metabolic control of glycogen synthase kinase 3ß nuclear translocation by lysosomal signals drives breast cancer cell proliferation and survival.

Nominated PICIHR2024CIHR - ICR / Cancer Research Society Partnership - Res. Grants - Breast Cancer

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin N

Keywords: Breast Cancer

$65,000

A Dual Camera Acquisition-Spinning Disc Confocal Microscope System to Study Cellular Dynamics

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Botelho, Roberto

$150,000

Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes

Nominated PICIHR2023Project Grant - PA: Breast Cancer Research

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin N

Keywords: Adaptor Proteins; Akt; Breast Cancer; Cell Surface; Image Analysis; Microscopy; Nanodomains; Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase; Phosphoinositides

$100,000

STEM-EELS tomography of biological materials

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Strauss, Mike M

$135,000

Dynamic tetraspanin nanodomains control EGFR signal licensing in breast cancer cells

Nominated PICIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin N

Keywords: Cell Migration; Cell Proliferation; Cell Surface; Cortical Tension; Drug Resistance; Neuropilin-1; Phosphoinositides; Receptor Signaling; Receptor Tyrosine Kinase; Single Particle Tracking

$1,002,150

Metabolic control of integrin membrane traffic by AMP-activated protein kinase controls cell migration.

SupervisorCIHR2021Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Principal investigators: Orofiamma, Laura A

Keywords: Breast Cancer; Cell Migration And Invasion; Membrane Traffic; Metabolic Stress; Metabolism; Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy

$105,000

Development of hypoxia-inducible prodrug molecules, engines, and assays for context-dependent small molecule inhibition

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Antonescu, Costin CN

$30,000

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

Chemistry and Biology
Cell Biology
Research Institute
Molecular Genetics

Co-authors at Toronto Metropolitan University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Brian Raught

Research Institute

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Amira Klip

Cell Biology

1 shared papers, latest 2009

James Rini

Molecular Genetics

1 shared papers, latest 2022

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 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Akt Dear Professor Antonescu, 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 "FASN inhibitor TVB-3166 prevents S-acylation of the spike protein of human coronaviruses." (2022), 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 "Spatial control of PI3K-Akt signaling within clathrin signalosomes" (2025), 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]