The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has recognized The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project with the 2020 AACR Team Science Awards. Award recipients include Dr. Ilya Shmulevich, ISB professor and head of the Shmulevich Lab; ISB senior research scientist Dr. Vésteinn Þórsson; and former Shmulevich Lab members Drs. Brady Bernard and Theo Knijnenburg.
There is a dichotomy between Bacteroides- and Prevotella-dominated guts — two common gut bacterial genera — and there is a significant barrier when it comes to transitioning from one to the other.
In findings published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers show that cancer cells can take more than one path to reach a drug-resistant cell state. These findings could have promising implications for the future of cancer care.
ISB researchers have unveiled new insights on how Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, enters and exits a dormant state in human hosts. About a quarter of the world’s population has latent TB, so these important findings will enable and accelerate the discovery of more effective TB drugs.
In the cellular process of differentiation, information about the concentrations of an important class of proteins residing in a cell’s nucleus has been lacking, a missing link needed for scientists to fully understand how the process works. ISB researchers have quantified this important class of proteins that play a key role in the formation of red blood cells.
ISB and Swedish Medical Center launched a study to follow hundreds of patients who contract COVID-19 to learn why those infected have drastically different outcomes. “Each of the COVID-19 patients has a unique lesson to teach us about how the medical and scientific community can respond most effectively to this pandemic,” said ISB President Dr. Jim Heath, who co-leads the study.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been a frequent injury among U.S. combatants, and blast-related mTBI has been called the “signature injury” from military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. ISB researchers are working to develop new methods to identify molecular changes in the blood of war veterans diagnosed with chronic mTBI.
A promising new open-source metabolic modeling tool provides microbiome researchers a path forward in predicting ecosystem function from community structure. News of the software package, called MICOM, was developed in part by researchers in ISB’s Gibbons Lab, and its uses were published in the journal mSystems.
Researchers at ISB harnessed deep molecular and physiological information to determine an individual’s biological age, which they found was reflective of overall health compared to chronological age. The findings were published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A.
ISB researchers and their collaborators are using systems biology approaches to learn how the malaria parasite is able to transfer to humans via the bite of an infected mosquito. The information they have uncovered may help identify new ways to prevent people from contracting the deadly disease.
Members of ISB’s Heath Lab and their collaborators have developed a way to sensitively detect and analyze neoantigen-specific T-cell populations from tumors and blood. This promising development may have implications for creating targeted, individual-specific cancer vaccines.
Predicting the alpha diversity of an individual’s gut microbiome is possible by examining metabolites in the blood. The robust relationship between host metabolome and gut microbiome diversity opens the door for a fast, cheap and reliable blood test to identify individuals with low gut diversity.
In a study published in Nature Communications and with implications for understanding effects of climate change, ISB researchers show microscopic phytoplankton are more resilient in an acidified environment.
Institute for Systems Biology and Arivale “Pioneer 100 Study” Establishes Foundation for New Industry of Scientific Wellness. Personal, dense, dynamic data clouds enable novel insights into mechanisms of wellness and disease, new approaches to biomarker discovery, and the empowerment of individuals to enhance their own health.
Seattle’s Magnificent Forest at Seward Park is located within one of the nation’s most diverse neighborhoods. The 98118 zip code in southeast Seattle is home to people of all socioeconomic classes including groups of immigrants who speak more than 60 languages. Seward Park serves as an urban oasis for the community to enjoy nature, easy hikes, and access to the expansive Lake Washington. The park’s Magnificent Forest, so called because…
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…
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…
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…
