(Photo: Dr. Sui Huang presenting during an ISB systems biology discussion group on May 15, 2014.) LAB NOTEBOOK: At ISB, we hold systems biology discussion groups every Thursday during lunch. The topics vary from week to week, but the intention is to inspire exchanges amongst our staff. Today's discussion group was presented by Dr. Sui Huang – our resident theorist, who always poses just the right question to provoke thought…
(Photo above: ISB’s Dr. Ilya Shmulevich describes his lab’s work in The Cancer Genome Atlas project and how ISB and FHCRC could collaborate.) Big health challenges require big science. Cancers are prime examples of overwhelmingly complex diseases that need the power of a cross-disciplinary, systems biology approach to decipher the underlying dysfunctional gene networks in order to find ways to prevent and manage the diseases and develop more effective therapies….
The latest press about the 100K Wellness Project is in the May 15 issue of Clinical Omics and features a piece by Dr. Lee Hood, president of Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), and Dr. Nathan Price, ISB’s associate director. Read “Promoting Wellness and Demystifying Disease: The 100K Project”
Emily Carlson and Sharon Reynolds, of the National Institutes of Health/NIGMS, posted a story on NIGMS's Inside Life Science as well as on Livescience.com on how systems biology is a powerful approach to studying biological networks. The article included comments from ISB scientist Aaron Brooks and senior research engineer Chris Lausted who created a network activity that they presented during the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington D.C. on…
May has been designated "National Cancer Research Month" and we'd like to share a little about how ISB is using the systems biology approach to tackle some of the complexities of researching cancers. You can read our four-part series on how ISB's pioneering systems biology has made an impact and continues to clear new pathways for the cancer research field. Please visit aacr.org to learn more about NCRM. Support ISB's…
By Martin Shelton ISB Editorial Board Member With the exception of cancers of the skin, mouth, and blood, it is difficult to detect cancer by sight or with a routine health screen. The natural variety that exists at the cellular level — even within cells of the same type — challenges our ability to differentiate healthy tissue from diseased. This variety, what biologists call heterogeneity, means that equally healthy cells…
ISB scientists Aaron Brooks (Baliga Lab) and Martin Shelton (Hood Lab) attended the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington D.C. on April 26-27. They, and ISB senior research engineer, Chris Lausted, developed an interactive network activity involving circuit boxes that represent nodes and fiber optic cables to connect them. The project and trip to D.C. were supported by funds through NIH/NIGMS and ISB’s Center for Systems Biology. From Brooks:…
Pictured above: Allison Kudla presents ISB’s Big Data Science site at the start of the meetup. ISB hosted the Seattle Vis meetup group this past Wednesday (April 30). The meetup was organized by Noah Iliinsky and facilitated by ISB’s Dick Kreisberg. The guest speakers were Ryan Lucas and Kevin Lynagh, who have created a very stylistic charting library based on a grammar of graphics. They are an independent data vis…
(Photo above: Artist Xiao Dong Feng and Dr. Lee Hood raise a toast during a reception on April 28. Feng’s painting “Qing Xu” hangs in the background. The name is symbolic of someone who eschews earthly materialism and is instead a visionary who seeks a higher or more spiritual understanding.) On April 28, Institute for Systems Biology hosted an intimate symposium on Systems Biology & Systems Art in honor of…
National: At the beginning of April, Dana Riley Black, ISB’s Director of Education, was invited to participate in one of three Ideas Labs hosted by the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. The weeklong lab was related to the new NSF program “Improving Undergraduate STEM Education” (IUSE) and was focused on discussing ideas for integrating quantitative literacy into undergraduate biology education. The reason for this particular topic is that while…
ISB held its 13th Annual International Symposium: Systems Biology & Cancers From Big Data to Personalized Treatment on April 13-14, 2014. Visit symposium.isbscience.net for details. Visit the gallery for images. Or visit the video playlist on ISB’s YouTube channel.
Summer Course: Systems Biology of Disease Register Now Offered by Institute for Systems Biology and Center for Systems Biology Course Objective The goal of this course is to introduce the core concepts of systems biology and their application to systems biomedicine. We will demonstrate the importance of cross-disciplinary interactions for the success of systems biology programs. When July 28 – August 1, 2014 9 am to 5 pm Where Institute…
On March 27, 2014, ISB and Town Hall Seattle co-presented a panel discussion on "Systems Biology & Cancers: From Big Data to Personalized Treatment." Panelists included ISB president, Dr. Lee Hood; Dr. Tony Blau, of UW's Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine; Dr. Peter Nelson, prostate cancer researcher and oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and moderator Dr. Eric Holland, Senior VP and Director of the Human Biology Division…
On March 27, 2014, ISB and Town Hall Seattle co-presented a panel discussion on "Systems Biology & Cancers: From Big Data to Personalized Treatment." Panelists included ISB president, Dr. Lee Hood; Dr. Tony Blau, of UW's Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine; Dr. Peter Nelson, prostate cancer researcher and oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and moderator Dr. Eric Holland, Senior VP and Director of the Human Biology Division…
Dr. Lee Hood will participate in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on March 24 April 11 from 10-11 a.m. PST. There will be more details posted on Reddit.com the morning of April 11. For now, feel free to look at the list of upcoming science AMAs or check out some previous science AMAs here.
The educators who work at ISB continue to influence how science is taught in the State of Washington. Claudia Ludwig and Dina Kovarik, members of the Baliga Lab education team, recently helped the Highline School District apply for a $1,000 grant to use toward systems science materials and teacher training. Highline’s Arts and Academics Academy received the award, which will also provide students with “real-world” lab experience.
John Nosta, a contributor to Forbes.com, posted this piece today and included a mention of a collaboration between Indi and ISB on a diagnostic that may help identify benign lung nodules. From Diagnosis to Treatment, Has Lung Cancer Begun To Turn The Corner? This study suggests the tremendous power of using systems biology and bioinformatics to better understand health and disease,” said Lee Hood, M.D., Ph.D., co-author of the study; co-founder…
