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…
3 Bullets: ISB researchers and their collaborators studied a group of supercentenarians (110 years or older) to explore the genetics of ‘extreme longevity.’ The group performed whole-genome sequencing on 17 supercentenarians in order to look for any rare protein-altering variants associated with extreme longevity. While the researchers did not find a single cause for extreme longevity within this sample size, the genomic data is now available for future studies. By…
ISB president, Dr. Lee Hood, gave the inaugural talk for the Academic Medical Center Helsinki Distinguished Lecture Series on Nov. 11, 2014, in Helsinki, Finland. He also received a lecture award. Read about the lecture here.
(Above illustration from MIT Technology Review.) MIT Technology Review published an article about the launch of Google Genomics and included a mention of ISB’s new Cancer Genomics Cloud project. ISB received an up-to $6.5 million, two-year NIH contract in collaboration with Google and SRA International. From the MIT Technology Review article: The idea is to create “cancer genome clouds” where scientists can share information and quickly run virtual experiments as…
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…
3 Bullets: Dengue virus is the most prevalent mosquito-borne virus worldwide, infecting an estimated 400 million people per year and causing about 25,000 deaths. It’s necessary to understand the molecular mechanisms of dengue replication in order to develop an effective treatment. Researchers at ISB and Seattle BioMed developed a novel approach for identifying host proteins that associate with dengue replication machinery. By Thurston Herricks Dengue virus (DENV) infects approximately 400…
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)…
Above: Cover of the November 2014 issue of Real Simple Magazine A team at ISB has been working on the 100K Wellness Project, which you read about here. The November issue of Real Simple Magazine has a feature story on “What Exactly is Wellness?” It includes a mention of our wellness study and a comment from Dr. Nathan Price, ISB associate director. “Perhaps one reason why wellness programs aren’t yet…
By ISBUSA Since we announced that we got a $6.5 million contract from NCI to develop the Cancer Genomics Cloud pilot project, we’ve gotten some great press from around the world. It doesn’t hurt that one of our partners is Google, of course. Here are some of the headlines from around the world: Puget Sound Business Journal: Cancer in the cloud: Institute for Systems Biology teams up with Google NBCNews.com:…
PRESS RELEASE Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) has received a $6.5 million, up to two-year, federally funded contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). ISB is one of three organizations awarded a contract by NCI to develop a cloud-based platform that will serve as a large-scale data repository and provide the computational infrastructure necessary to carry out cancer genomics research at unprecedented scales. ISB’s Shmulevich…
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….
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…
Xconomy featured an article about the 100K Wellness Project. The article provides an introduction and follows with a Q&A with Dr. Nathan Price, who is Associate Director of ISB. Read the article by Alex Lash, Xconomy.com’s National Biotech Editor: “100K” Marathon: A Decades-Long Health Study Makes Its Business Case
3 Bullets: Novel systems approach uses high-resolution structures of protein-DNA complexes to predict where transcription factors (genetic switches) bind and regulate the genome. This approach can help researchers better understand and predict binding sites for non-model organisms or ‘exotic’ species. Having such insight and predictive capabilities is critical for reverse- and forward-engineering organisms that could be pivotal for new green biotechnologies. By Jake Valenzuela and Justin Ashworth Researchers at the…
Pictured above: Dr. Qiang Tian, left, and Dr. Edward Lin, right, discuss single-cell analysis technologies developed at Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle. September 22, 2014 – ISB has received a $2.3 million NIH grant over four years in response to NCI’s “Provocative Questions” Initiative. The project will apply ISB’s most advanced single-cell omics technologies to an innovative clinical trial for colorectal cancer (ADAPT). Principal investigator Qiang Tian, MD, PhD,…
3 Bullets: The Institute for Systems Biology and Seattle BioMed have collaborated to reconstruct the gene regulatory network of the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Finely tuned gene regulation has allowed Mycobacterium tuberculosis to survive unnoticed in an apparently healthy host for decades; understanding those subtleties is critical for advancing treatment. The identification of co-regulated sets of genes and their regulatory influences offers validated predictions that will help guide future research…
Dr. Lee Hood received the IEEE Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology at a ceremony in Amsterdam on Aug. 23, 2014. Please watch a video of his acceptance speech here. IEEE Spectrum Magazine also published an article featuring an interview with Lee: “Medicine’s Next Big Mission: Understanding Wellness” Read article…
WHAT YOU SAW IN THE NEWS: On Aug. 14, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices awarded Washington State a $170,000 grant to support the launch of the STEM Education Innovation Alliance, which is tasked with bringing together business leaders and educators in order to help more students acquire the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills they need to qualify for the increasing…
