ISB News

Revolutionizing Healthcare: Exploring the Age of Scientific Wellness for Optimal Health and Disease Prevention

In their new book, “The Age of Scientific Wellness: Why the Future of Medicine is Personalized, Predictive, Data-Rich, and In Your Hands,” Drs. Lee Hood and Nathan Price introduce a new way of thinking about healthcare – a focus on preventing diseases and optimizing overall wellness.

Claire Reid / Los Angeles Times; Getty Images, Unsplash

Dr. Lee Hood Writes ‘Second Opinion’ Columns for Los Angeles Times

ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood is credited with coining the term “systems biology” and has been a longtime advocate of P4 medicine. Now, Hood has been selected by the Los Angeles Times to share his insights in a new weekly op-ed column, called Second Opinion.

A New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease

The impact of Alzheimer’s Disease is staggering – 6 million Americans diagnosed, a financial toll of $600 billion annually, and no effective drug treatments. ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood said the traditional approach isn’t working, and we need to think about it in brand new ways. 

Illustration depicting an individual's genetic risk for disease being "reflected."

ISB Researchers Show Genetic Risk for Disease Often Reflected in Our Blood

Diseases develop gradually over years, sometimes decades, before symptoms appear, and are due to malfunctioning physiological processes brought about by our genes and environment. In research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ISB researchers have shown how an individual’s genetic risk for disease is often reflected in their blood.

Town Hall Seattle panel

Expert Panel Discusses 21st Century Health at Town Hall Seattle Event

In a public panel discussion put on by Town Hall Seattle and ISB, legendary biologist Dr. Lee Hood, PSJH Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, and PATH’s Program Leader of Diagnostics Tala de los Santos addressed the promise — and challenges — of implementing and practicing 21st century health care.

Qiang Tian, MD, PhD

ISB’s Dr. Qiang Tian Joins Shanghai’s National Research Center for Translational Medicine

In the two decades since joining Dr. Lee Hood as a postdoc, Dr. Qiang Tian has made a tremendous impact on ISB’s science and culture. March 31 is his final day at ISB, as he is returning to China and joining Shanghai’s National Research Center for Translational Medicine.

Ozy’s ‘Future of X’ Podcast Features Drs. Jim Heath, Lee Hood

ISB President Dr. Jim Heath and ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood are prominently featured in a new podcast created by Ozy, the popular news website. The podcast is called “The Future of X.” In the series’ first episode, Heath and Hood discuss cancer immunotherapy, personalized health care, and more.

Lee Hood at Visions of the Future

‘Visions of the Future’ Symposium Honors Dr. Lee Hood on his 80th Birthday

An impressive lineup of renowned researchers gathered at ISB recently for a one-day symposium, titled “Visions of the Future,” to honor ISB co-founder Dr. Lee Hood on his 80th birthday. Presenters included Drs. Irv Weissman, Ralph Snyderman, Ellen Rothenberg, Roger Perlmutter, Jim Heath, Trey Ideker, and more.

New ‘scientific wellness’ strategy could cut chronic illnesses and save money

“Scientific wellness” should be widely adopted as a health strategy to avoid chronic illnesses and reduce health care costs, said ISB co-founder Dr. Lee Hood, speaking at the “Schrödinger at 75 conference” on the future of biology, in Dublin. Hood’s presentation was covered by The Irish Times.

Lessons I Learned from My 17 Years as ISB President

Lee Hood co-founded Institute for Systems Biology in 2000, and has served as president of the institution since; on January 1, 2018, he left that role to serve as chief science officer of Providence St. Joseph Health. Here, Hood shares the many lessons he learned from 17 years at the helm of ISB.

Annual Report 2016

ISB Annual Report: Catalyzing A Revolution

ISB’s compass has always been oriented toward the future. Even when we reflect on the past year for each annual report, it’s always through the lens of what’s on the horizon. We are remarkably consistent in that regard, which is in no small part due to our president Dr. Lee Hood, whose vision is perpetually a decade – at least – ahead of everyone else.

New Study Identifies Organ-Specific Biomarkers for Acute Liver Injury

ISB scientists recently published a study in the Journal of Proteome Research that presents results from a study on identifying organ-specific blood biomarkers for acute liver injury due to over-exposure to acetaminophen. From the summary: 3 Bullets: Finding organ-specific blood biomarkers for disease that are clinically useful is challenging. New study identifies organ-specific blood biomarkers for acute liver injury caused by over-exposure to acetaminophen. ISB researchers use the powerful, targeted…

Lee Hood Gives P4 Medicine Talk at University of Michigan

Dr. Lee Hood gave the keynote talk at the 9th Annual Prechter Lecture at the University of Michigan on Nov. 2. Here he speaks about P4 medicine and scientific wellness as it relates to bipolar disease. Link to Video on YouTube  (The talk begins about 40 minutes into the video.)

Lee Hood: ‘Creative Thinker Who’s Changing the World’

In the November issue of Alaska Airlines Magazine, ISB President Dr. Lee Hood is featured as one of five creative thinkers who are changing the world. Read the article: AlaskaAir_Hood “Hood is using his breakthroughs in the field of systems biology, or the study of how multiple systems in the body interrelate, to create whole new ways to evaluate an individual’s health, both from their genetic background and from other…

WRF Gifts $2M to ISB to Advance P4 Medicine

PRESS RELEASE from Washington Research Foundation: Sept. 30, 2015, Seattle –– Washington Research Foundation (WRF), which supports groundbreaking technology in the life sciences, physical sciences and information sciences in Washington State, announced today that it will provide the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) with $2 million in funding to bring increased research power to Seattle, and help place this community at the center of the coming transformation of the health…

Lee Hood to Speak at UK Personalized Medicine World Conference

Dr. Lee Hood will be speaking at the Personalized Medicine World Conference in Oxford, England, on April 17. His talk title: “Catalyzing a Revolution in Healthcare through a Longitudinal, Digital-Age Study of 100,000 Well Individuals” Learn more about the conference program here.

Infographic showing types of data

‘Integrating big data and actionable health coaching to optimize wellness’

The journal BioMed Central Medicine published a commentary by Dr. Lee Hood, Dr. Jennifer Lovejoy, and Dr. Nathan Price on the Hundred Person Wellness Project – phase 1 of the 100K Wellness Project. The article was published on Jan. 9, 2015. ABSTRACT: “The Hundred Person Wellness Project (HPWP) is a 10-month pilot study of 100 ‘well’ individuals where integrated data from whole-genome sequencing, gut microbiome, clinical laboratory tests and quantified…

ISB’s 100K Project A Top Story on GenomeWeb

By ISBUSA GenomeWeb announces 2014’s top-10 most-read articles on personalized medicine and the article on ISB’s 100K Wellness Project was No. 1. Here’s an excerpt from GenomeWeb’s Jan. 5 story: NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – GenomeWeb readers in 2014 were most interested in a story about a large study investigating why some people remain healthy while others get sick. The top article was about healthcare entrepreneur Leroy Hood’s efforts to advance…