PHILANTHROPY
Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is a nonprofit scientific research organization located in Seattle. We believe in the power of science transforming health.
You are committed to a better future, ISB is here to make that a reality.
RESEARCH
Research suggests that it may be possible to eliminate the correlation between age and diseases. ISB is working to leverage systems biology approaches to understand the mechanistic links among the processes that accompany and/or lead to aging.
RESEARCH
Each of us has a microbiome — trillions of microorganisms that reside in and on our bodies. ISB researchers are unlocking the mysteries of the human microbiome and translating our cutting-edge science to health care.
RESEARCH
ISB and our collaborative network of partners is pioneering a multimodal approach that combines personal data, lifestyle factors, cognitive training and systems medicine, and is rigorously testing these new approaches in clinical trials. This approach is critical to prevent, slow, and even reverse many neurological conditions before they become irreversible.
In the first installment of the 2024-25 academic year roundup, we highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. In October, we welcomed new team members, developed a new format for our popular “Systems Are Everywhere!” workshop, and more.
Our multi-day microbiome-themed virtual course and symposium is back for the fifth year! ISB is hosting a two-day course on October 16 & 17, 2024, followed by a symposium on October 18, 2024 titled, “A gut feeling: Microbes and their impacts on our minds.” Both events are virtual and free.
ISB researchers examined representative organisms of two classes of microbes whose interaction contributes to the conversion of more than 1 gigaton of carbon into methane every year. They found that gene mutations selected over a relatively short timeframe in the two microbes led to distinct functions.
Everybody poops, but not every day. An ISB-led research team examined the clinical, lifestyle, and multi-omic data of more than 1,400 healthy adults. How often people poop, they found, can have a large influence on one’s physiology and health.
Wei Wei, PhD – an accomplished cancer researcher with expertise in biotechnology and cancer systems biology – has been promoted to ISB associate professor. The Wei Lab focuses on understanding how cancer cells adapt to therapeutic treatment to foster therapy resistance by coordinating their internal molecular machinery and how these adaptive changes evolve within diverse tumors influenced by the tumor microenvironment.
Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest and most aggressive forms of primary brain cancer in adults and is known for its ability to resist treatment and to recur. ISB researchers have made breakthrough discoveries in understanding the mechanisms behind acquired resistance, focusing on a rare and stubborn group of cells within tumors called glioma stem-like cells.
Netflix’s “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut” is a documentary that merged gut microbiome experts, four individuals – including a well-known hot dog eating champion – facing personal battles with gastrointestinal health, and a unique, effective visual method of “showing” the gut microbiome in action.
ISB researchers have developed a novel way to simulate personalized, microbiome-mediated responses to diet. They use a microbial community-scale metabolic modeling (MCMM) approach to predict individual-specific short-chain fatty acid production rates in response to different dietary, prebiotic, and probiotic inputs.
In the final installment of the 2023-24 academic year roundup, we highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. Throughout the summer, the ISB Education was busy publishing research in a special edition of Connected Science Learning, hosting interns, and much more.
