ISB News

Seattle Science Foundation and ISB

ISB and Seattle Science Foundation Partner to Create Video Series

What are multi-omics? Why does our microbiome matter? What’s the difference between genetics and genomics? What is a digital twin? ISB and Seattle Science Foundation have partnered to create videos answering questions like these and more, showcasing ISB scientists and their work.

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.

ISB’s Innovator Award Program rewards high-risk, cross-disciplinary research projects

The Innovator Award Program at Institute for Systems Biology is an annual internal initiative started in 2017 that aims to stimulate creativity, innovation and collaboration within ISB, to provide funding support for high-risk, high-reward projects, and to develop new technologies and discoveries that will impact the entire research organization.

‘GEN’ Highlights ISB Symposium

In a feature article in “Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News,” writer Kathy Liszewski takes readers through the minds of systems biologists whom she compares to experts in biological cryptanalysis who are hunting for the “subcellular double agents and moles” behaving nefariously and causing disease. The writer shares some key points from speakers who presented at ISB’s annual Symposium, including ISB assistant professor Dr. Naeha Subramanian and Dr. Trevor Mundel, of…

New Baliga Article: ‘The Promise of Systems Biology’

ISB Director and SVP Dr. Nitin Baliga contributed an article to the Missoulian Newspaper that explains the power of the systems biology approach to research. Read the full article… “Biology is complex. The need to understand this complexity drives advancements in technologies that are required to measure properties of all of the constituent parts and to understand how they interact with one another. The application of those technologies generates large…

Systems Biology is All About Collaboration

ISB researchers and their colleagues from the Center for Infectious Disease Research held the 5th annual joint poster session on June 30. The event kicked off with lightning talks, which featured two-minute research summaries from each scientist who submitted a poster. Following the lightning talks, researchers were able to peruse posters and chat with colleagues about any potential collaborations. ISB and CIDResearch takes turns hosting the event, which is intended…

ISB-CGC banner image

Not Just About Collecting Data

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News interviewed ISB’s Dr. Ilya Shmulevich for a feature article on systems biology. “Systems biology is not just about measuring as many things as possible,” says Ilya Shmulevich, PhD, a professor at the Institute for Systems Biology. “It is also about using mathematical and computational modeling to make predictions about the system.” READ THE ARTICLE: http://www.genengnews.com/…/systems-biology-digs-deep…/5775/

Logan Center for Education workshop for community and technical college faculty.

Logan Center Hosts Community College Faculty

The Logan Center for Education has been working with Washington State’s Board for Community and Technical Colleges to offer faculty development for instructors of undergraduate biology. The participants represent nearly all of Washington State’s 34 community and technical colleges. The April 22 workshop is the sixth for this group.

What Should Your Resolutions Actually Be?

Do you know your systems biology? Your health and wellness are determined by the intricate, interconnected systems of your body’s internal mechanisms plus your particular set of external environmental factors. We created a fun quiz to help you make your new health resolutions.    

How One Family of Microbial Genes Rewires Itself for New Niches

3 Bullets: When an organism duplicates its genes, it increases its ability to adapt and colonize new environments. ISB researchers used the systems approach to study how one family of microbial genes evolved to bring functions that were adaptive to specific environments. This new understanding of how gene regulatory networks rewire themselves has many potential applications, including how to wire new functions into an organism for biofuel production, bio-remediation or…

How Physics and Thermodynamics Help Assess DNA Defects in Cancer

3 Bullets: ‘Big data’ cancer research has revealed a new spectrum of genetic mutations across tumors that need understanding. Existing methods for analyzing DNA defects in cancer are blind to how those mutations actually behave. ISB scientists developed a new approach using physics- and structure-based modeling to systematically assess the spectrum of mutations that arise in several gene regulatory proteins in cancer. By Jake Valenzuela and Justin Ashworth A significant…

New Details on Thyroid Cancer May Lead to More Precise Therapies

3 Bullets: Papillary thyroid cancer represents 80 percent of all thyroid cancer cases. Integrative analysis resulted in the detection of significant molecular alterations not previously reported in the disease. ISB researchers identified microRNAs which may lead to more precise therapy. By Lisa Iype Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for 80 percent of all cases. As part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)…

ISB 2014 Retreat

ISB held its all-staff retreat in Leavenworth on Sept. 8 and 9. In order to do the kind of science we do, we need time away to connect with one another, recharge and envision big ideas. While there are plenty of sessions on our science, there are also plenty of opportunities to have a little fun. This year, we held an “open-mic” night. Several ISB staffers performed – including Dr….

Tracking Cells from Well to Diseased

KUOW's Marcie Sillman and producer Amina Al-Sadi interviewed Dr. Lee Hood about P4 medicine and the 100K Wellness Project. This 29-minute recording is a great conversation about Lee's vision for how to turn healthcare on its head. Listen to the podcast. Learn more about the 100K Wellness Project.  

NIH awards $10.9 million to National Center for Dynamic Interactome Research

New $10.9 Million Grant from NIH

The NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences has issued a Biotechnology Resource Grant of $10.9 million over five years to the National Center for Dynamic Interactome Research (ncdir.org) project. This project is a collaboration among The Rockefeller University, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle BioMed, University of California at San Francisco, New York University and New York Structural Biology Center. Michael Rout, of The Rockefeller University, is the Program Director/Principal…

Decoding the Microbial Gene-Recycling Program: Researchers 'Unzip' Genetic Instruction Manuals

New Open-Access Multiscale Model Captures Dynamic Molecular Processes in Unprecedented Detail

3 Bullets: Microbes are efficient because their streamlined genomes allow them to evolve and adapt rapidly to complex environmental changes. Decoding the highly-compressed information within a microbial genome requires sophisticated systems biology tools to map the genetic programs, and understand how they are executed. ISB researchers invented novel algorithms to unzip and decode microbial genomes into the EGRIN 2.0, an open-access multiscale model that captures instructions for executing the dynamic…

Cover image for ISB's 2013 Annual Report.

ISB’s 2013 Annual Report is Now Available

Institute for Systems Biology has a dizzying breadth of research projects. But when we talk about what we do, it’s how we do it that matters most. The systems approach that we pioneered and exemplify continues to distinguish our ability to tackle the most complex biological and environmental challenges today. Because of how we apply our hallmark collaborative, cross-disciplinary and integrative approach, our collective success is greater than the sum…

ISB and Seattle BioMed held its annual Lightning Talks on June 12, 2014. The talks offer scientists the chance to share current research and to enable potential collaborations across institutes.

3-Minute Science: ISB and Seattle BioMed Hold Annual Lightning Talks

Photo: Theo Knijnenburg, a research scientist in ISB's Shmulevich Lab, presentaed a summary of his work related to gene mutations and cancer drug sensitivity. Systems biology is about the culture as much as a scientific approach. ISB and Seattle BioMed have an inter-institutional agreement that enables the collective to benefit from shared knowledge and technology resources. For the second consecutive year, we held Lightning Talks (June 12) to allow researchers…