In their new book, “The Age of Scientific Wellness: Why the Future of Medicine is Personalized, Predictive, Data-Rich, and In Your Hands,” Drs. Lee Hood and Nathan Price introduce a new way of thinking about healthcare – a focus on preventing diseases and optimizing overall wellness.
By taking detailed measurements of blood and other biological samples, ISB scientists have shown they can identify markers for cancer years before diagnosis. This was the topic of a recent Research Roundtable presentation delivered by Dr. Andrew Magis, Director of Data Science in ISB’s Health Data Science Lab.
The impact of Alzheimer’s Disease is staggering – 6 million Americans diagnosed, a financial toll of $600 billion annually, and no effective drug treatments. ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood said the traditional approach isn’t working, and we need to think about it in brand new ways.
Diseases develop gradually over years, sometimes decades, before symptoms appear, and are due to malfunctioning physiological processes brought about by our genes and environment. In research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ISB researchers have shown how an individual’s genetic risk for disease is often reflected in their blood.
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.
Dr. Nathan Price has been inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows. Price was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for his contributions deriving medical and biological insights from large-scale data analysis and network modeling, and translating those insights to society.
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.
About 75 people attended “Reimagine,” ISB’s annual fundraiser, and contributed nearly $35,000 to accelerate groundbreaking research. The event was held at The Ruins, and featured presentations by legendary biologist and ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood and renowned scientist and ISB President Dr. Jim Heath.
In a public panel discussion put on by Town Hall Seattle and ISB, legendary biologist Dr. Lee Hood, PSJH Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, and PATH’s Program Leader of Diagnostics Tala de los Santos addressed the promise — and challenges — of implementing and practicing 21st century health care.
In the two decades since joining Dr. Lee Hood as a postdoc, Dr. Qiang Tian has made a tremendous impact on ISB’s science and culture. March 31 is his final day at ISB, as he is returning to China and joining Shanghai’s National Research Center for Translational Medicine.
ISB President Dr. Jim Heath and ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood are prominently featured in a new podcast created by Ozy, the popular news website. The podcast is called “The Future of X.” In the series’ first episode, Heath and Hood discuss cancer immunotherapy, personalized health care, and more.
An impressive lineup of renowned researchers gathered at ISB recently for a one-day symposium, titled “Visions of the Future,” to honor ISB co-founder Dr. Lee Hood on his 80th birthday. Presenters included Drs. Irv Weissman, Ralph Snyderman, Ellen Rothenberg, Roger Perlmutter, Jim Heath, Trey Ideker, and more.
“Scientific wellness” should be widely adopted as a health strategy to avoid chronic illnesses and reduce health care costs, said ISB co-founder Dr. Lee Hood, speaking at the “Schrödinger at 75 conference” on the future of biology, in Dublin. Hood’s presentation was covered by The Irish Times.
Philanthropist Carole Ellison created the recently unveiled K. Carole Ellison Fellows in Bioinformatics. “It’s so exciting to be part of (young researchers’) lives and help them along in their careers,” Ellison said.
Jim Heath took over as president of Institute for Systems Biology on January 1. To fully appreciate Heath’s relationship with ISB, you have to go back to its early days – shortly after the research organization was founded in 2000.
Lee Hood co-founded Institute for Systems Biology in 2000, and has served as president of the institution since; on January 1, 2018, he left that role to serve as chief science officer of Providence St. Joseph Health. Here, Hood shares the many lessons he learned from 17 years at the helm of ISB.
ISB’s compass has always been oriented toward the future. Even when we reflect on the past year for each annual report, it’s always through the lens of what’s on the horizon. We are remarkably consistent in that regard, which is in no small part due to our president Dr. Lee Hood, whose vision is perpetually a decade – at least – ahead of everyone else.
