The Institute for Systems Biology, where science solves problems, saves lives, and benefits human life on a global scale. If that’s not beautiful, we don’t know what is.
A microbial community-scale metabolic model of an individual’s gut generated by MICOM data and the data visualization tool Gephi. Image credit: Gibbons Lab/ISB.
Where discovery meets action – ISB is driving innovation from the heart of South Lake Union, uncovering new solutions to the world’s most pressing health problems.
ISB’s headquarters in South Lake Union, Seattle.
ISB brings together scientists, engineers, and staff from a wide range of fields, including molecular biology, genetics, software engineering, and microbial ecology, to advance human health.
Scientists working in the mass spectrometry and wet labs at ISB.
Cancer is complex and requires a sophisticated systems approach to understand and treat it. ISB researchers are pursuing several complex and cross-disciplinary means to better create more personalized therapeutics and simulate which treatments will be most effective.
Each of us has a microbiome — trillions of microorganisms that reside in and on our bodies. ISB researchers study the microbiome’s role in human health and translate this knowledge into approaches designed to promote better health for every individual.
Our infectious disease research addresses a wide range of global health initiatives. We are exploring new approaches that focus on cutting-edge treatments and preventive measures to fight infectious diseases.
Read the latest news of our transformational research, devoted scientists and educators, recent and upcoming events, and much more.
Since 2021, Claudia McLaughlin Ludwig and the ISB Education team have partnered with Washington Service Corps, an AmeriCorps program, welcoming four AmeriCorps members in various important roles over that timespan. The program will be paused for 2026. Join recent AmeriCorps members Sarah Clemente and Faduma Hussein in reflecting on their time at ISB and the importance of this program to their professional development.
Researchers at ISB have developed personalized models to predict C. diff colonization risk and test targeted probiotics. This approach could prevent infection before it starts and paves the way for precision microbiome therapies tailored to individual gut ecosystems.
ISB scientists have developed a simple, low-cost method to measure the total amount of bacteria in the gut using existing sequencing data. This breakthrough could speed up microbiome research and unlock new insights into health and disease.
A purple ribbon, the color for gynecologic cancers, composed with diverse faces illustrated by Stacey Knipe.
The Women’s Health Consortium, led by ISB President Dr. Jim Heath, is taking a collaborative approach to engineered T cell immunotherapy to benefit all women with advanced HPV+ cancers. Your support will help us bring innovative therapies to patients in need.
President and Professor Jim Heath is dedicated to advancing precision medicine from benchtop to bedside, particularly in oncology. His research addresses fundamental scientific bottlenecks that can unlock solutions to broader challenges.
Associate Professor Sean Gibbons develops experimental and computational approaches to dissect and engineer the functional outputs of the human gut microbiome to advance personalized medicine.
Assistant Professor Anna Kuchina studies bacteria at the single-cell level, using advanced technologies to understand how bacteria behave in complex settings such as biofilms living in the human body.
The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is a nonprofit scientific research organization located in Seattle. We believe that science has the power to transform health. You have an opportunity to play an essential role in the future of human health. When you get involved, you enable our researchers to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Together we can build a better, brighter, healthier future.