ISB News

The Future of Health: Presentations from ISB’s 17th Annual International Symposium

At our 17th Annual International Symposium, focusing on the Future of Health, we welcomed speakers who are experts in diverse areas including environmental and occupational health, infectious disease transmission and forecast, drug and vaccine development, communicable disease dynamics, and beyond. Here is a video roundup of presentations from our two-day event.

Postdoc Appreciation 2017

Postdoc Appreciation 2017

In honor of National Postdoc Appreciation Week in late September, ISB’s staff recently gathered to honor and celebrate all of our devoted and hardworking postdocs. The event included speeches from a number of faculty members. “Postdocs are the heart of ISB,” Dr. Nathan Price, professor and associate director, told the gathering.

Summer Course Success

Among ISB’s core values is the belief that we have a responsibility to share what we know. To that end, ISB hosts an annual weeklong Systems Biology of Disease Summer Course to introduce the core concepts of systems biology and their application to systems biomedicine. The course demonstrates the importance of cross-disciplinary interactions for the success of systems biology programs. Participants include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, biomedical researchers, educators and…

ISB Consilience: Museum of Awe

The Museum of Awe is all around us; you just have to find a door. Attendees of the 2017 Consilience event, including ISB’s Dr. Ilya Shmulevich (center), examine a mini “pop-up” experience created by NASA JPL visual strategists Dan Goods and David Delgado. The tank allows people to see particles that have come down to earth from outer space. The experience is designed as a simple reminder of the gift…

2017 Consilience Event

ISB hosts its annual Consilience event on May 19 at 1pm. The theme is “Integrating Diverse Approaches to Communicating the Complexities of Science.” This year’s speakers include Dan Goods and David Delgado from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Afroditi Psarra from University of Washington. ISB co-founder Dr. Lee Hood will give opening remarks. Featured artist Ginny Ruffner will present her interactive augmented reality installation “Poetic Hybrids.” The goal of the…

In Memory of Bill Bowes, Jr.

“To change the way medicine is done. Cheaper and better. Simple as that.” That was the reason William Ketcham “Bill” Bowes, Jr., cited when asked why he had supported ISB from the beginning and why he had served on ISB’s board of directors for more than a decade. Bill passed away on Dec. 28, 2016, at the age of 90. The ISB community was especially saddened by the news of…

Earth To Dinner 2 at Seattle Culinary Academy

ISB participated in Earth To Dinner 2 on Jan. 12 at Seattle Culinary Academy. This was a follow-up event for the Dec. 12 Earth to Dinner event at ISB. (Read more…) The theme was sustainable food/agriculture and urban design. Panelists for the evening included: Grace Kim: Architect and co-founder of Schemata Workshop Liz Fikejs: Conservation Program Manager, Seattle Public Utilities Jessica Day: Project Manager, Project Feed 1010 Dean DeCrease: Principal…

Earth To Dinner Rallies ISB Community Around Climate Action

It started with a call to action: On Dec. 12, the first anniversary of the Paris Agreement, gather around the dinner table with friends and other community members to discuss climate action. Organizers from GOOD Magazine and the Earth To Coalition hoped that this grassroots movement, given the incoming administration, would inspire people to keep climate action at the top of minds. ISB answered the call and decided to host…

Best Ever Valerie Logan Lunch: $120K Raised

The 5th Annual Valerie Logan Luncheon, which took place on Nov. 29, was our most successful yet, having raised $120,000 for ISB’s education programs. There were a few tear-jerker moments, including when Lee Hood interviewed some students: Sara Michelassi, who will graduate next spring with her high school diploma AND her AA in science from North Seattle College, said that she’s always dreamed of working in a lab, “but I…

Jeff and Debra Arline

ISB Staffer Hosts Navy Sailors for Thanksgiving

ISB’s beloved receptionist, Debra, and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their son and some of his fellow Navy sailors to their home on Nov. 25 for a belated Thanksgiving meal. The sailors are stationed at NAS Whidbey Island and had to work on Thanksgiving Day. Jeff cooked for days to get ready to host, making family recipes for pound cake, mac-and-cheese, collard greens, and the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and fixings. We’re…

NU-ISB-PF1010

Advancing Sustainable Agriculture

ISB’s Project Feed 1010 is building a global, crowd-sourced network of educators, students, researchers and farmers to optimize and scale-up sustainable agriculture practices and educate the future scientific workforce. To support this global network, we have partnered with Northeastern University to develop database, web and mobile infrastructures with functionalities for data tracking, monitoring, analytics and predictive modeling. More than 20 graduate-level computer science students enrolled in an interactive course have…

Save the Date: Panel Discussion at Town Hall

Save the date! As part of ISB’s Annual Systems Biology Symposium, we will host a panel discussion at Town Hall on the evening of April 4. This year’s Symposium theme is “Emerging Technologies for Systems Biology.” The Panelists include: Atul Butte, MD, PhD, Director, Institute for Computational Health Sciences, and Professor of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco; Carol Dahl, PhD, Executive Director, The Lemelson Foundation; and Jacob Corn, PhD,…

Dr. Lee Hood’s Video Message for Research!America’s Campaign for Cures

Dr. Lee Hood contributed a video to support Research!America’s Campaign for Cures. He emphasizes the necessity of federal funding to ensure research organizations can continue their pioneering work. It’s also crucial to support up-and-coming scientists in their research. Watch the video message here.

ISB Q&A: Nick Newcombe, Director of Development

Q: What is your role as Director of Development? Nick Newcombe: In my role, I plan and implement how and in what ways we are going to deepen our contributor’s connection to ISB and give them the opportunity to further invest in our mission and vision. I empower our science and development/communications staff and volunteers to help carry out this plan. We want our contributors to receive outreach from the…

Dine out for a cause at FareStart and Support ISB, too!

If you live in Seattle or happen to be in Seattle on Aug. 27, consider attending the FareStart Guest Chef Night fundraising dinner, which will feature ISB’s communications director Hsiao-Ching Chou (who also is a food writer and cooking instructor) as the guest chef. Dinner is $29.95 and proceeds benefit FareStart’s culinary training program for homeless/disadvantaged people. That evening, ISB also will be launching a campaign for the Baliga Lab’s…

Symposium on “Taoism, Biology & Life” at ISB on May 18, 2015

Painting copyright Feng Xiaodong. Institute for Systems Biology presents: Taoism, Biology and Life Please join ISB in welcoming Xiao Dong Feng and Dr. Stephen Little for a symposium on Taoism, Biology and Life. Opening remarks by Dr. Lee Hood. This event is free and open to the public. Location: ISB Main Floor, 401 Terry Ave N, Seattle Date: Monday, May 18 Time: 3:15pm – 5pm Biographies: Xiao Dong Feng was…

PROJECT BIOTECH Camp goers

PROJECT BIOTECH Summer Camp Report

Photo above: Students participating in PROJECT BIOTECH Summer Camp. Photo credit: Shoreline Community College By Dina Kovarik Project Manager, Baliga Lab The Shoreline Community College (SCC) Biotech Program and the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) program partnered with the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) to develop a one‐week summer camp for high school students called PROJECT BIOTECH. The camp took place at SCC on July 7‐11, 2014. While the Puget Sound…

Aitchison Lab Accepts ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Jennifer Smith, senior research scientist in the John Aitchison Lab, was tagged to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. And because the Aitchison group studies ALS, Jennifer’s lab mates took the challenge, too. Jennifer offered this description of the work they are doing to create a blood test for early detection of ALS: ISB is developing a multi-component blood-based assay (blood test) for early detection and disease tracking of ALS….