Alpha diversity in the gut microbiome holds many clues to understanding human health. This blog post by Metabolon details how those clues are more accessible because ISB researchers can predict the diversity of an individual’s gut microbiome by examining metabolites in the blood. These findings were recently published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
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.
Letter from the president: Dr. Jim Heath announces the kickoff of a 2020 celebration marking ISB’s 20th anniversary. The year-long celebration will include an ISB-Town Hall Seattle speaker series focusing on some of the most important topics in science and health care.
When putting together a science-themed gift guide, you have to go to the source. So we asked ISB’s researchers for their ideas and to share what’s on their lists. Whether you’re buying for a scientist or wanting to give the gift of science, this gift guide is for you.
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.
The 8th Annual Valerie Logan Luncheon celebrated ISB Education’s mission of engaging entire school systems — from principals and administrators to teachers and students — to ensure all students are STEM literate. Nearly 100 people attended the event at ISB, and generously gave more than $100,000 for ISB Education.
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.
We created a new brand identity — including logo and tag line — to reflect ISB’s evolution since our inception in 2000, and ahead of our 20th anniversary. ISB is proud to be a part of the vibrant research community in Seattle, and is committed to translational and collaborative science.
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.
By using single-cell analysis to measure metabolic activities in rare disseminated tumor cells taken from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, ISB researchers and their collaborators can accurately predict how patients will respond to various cancer therapies, and how treatments will impact a patient’s physiological performance and survival.
ISB has entered into a scientific partnership with the Brain Health & Research Institute (BHRI), which opens its doors on September 3 in Seattle. BHRI was created by brain health expert Dr. Mary Kay Ross, and is dedicated to the evaluation, prevention, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.
ISB’s Dr. Sui Huang uses the theory of complex systems and applies it to cancer research. In this video Q&A, he discusses the cancer paradox and highlights the importance of understanding the mechanism of what cancer treatments can backfire in order to open a new avenue for therapy and treatments.
Pregnancy is a biological necessity for survival. Traditionally, however, our knowledge about pregnancy and pregnant women have lagged. Dr. Alison Paquette, a research scientist in ISB’s Hood-Price Lab, hosted a video question-and-answer session where she discussed pregnancy, the placenta, preterm birth, and much more.
Caroline Cannistra joined ISB in 2018 as a Systems Research Scholar. The Systems Research Scholars Program provides recent college undergraduates a springboard to become the next generation’s pioneers of interdisciplinary scientific research.
Since national surveillance of Lyme Disease started in 1982, the number of cases reported annually has increased nearly 25-fold. Lyme Disease specialist Dr. Susan Marra recently produced a video, “Ending Lyme,” about the latest in Lyme research that features ISB Drs. Jim Heath, Lee Hood, Rob Moritz, Naeha Subramanian and Nathan Price.
ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood spoke with ideaXme’s Ira Pastor about his background; biochemistry, medicine, and his pathway to founding ISB; the model of P4 medicine; the importance of technology transfer and biotech company spinoffs; his views on aging and longevity biotechnology; and much more.
