A New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease
at the Institute for Systems Biology
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A New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease
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.
Variations in the Microbiome Associated with Health, Disease
ISB researchers examined the associations between the gut microbiomes of about 3,400 people and roughly 150 host characteristics. The team looked at diet, medication use, clinical blood markers, and other lifestyle and clinical factors, and found evidence that variations of the gut microbiome are associated with health and disease.
It’s ‘Either/Or’ for Two Common Gut Microbiome Genera, and Switching Teams Is Tougher Than Expected
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.
ISB’s Dr. Nathan Price Inducted into AIMBE’s College of Fellows
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.
How Old Are You? Your Body Might Disagree With That Answer
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.
Using Blood to Predict Gut Microbiome Diversity
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.
Expert Panel Discusses 21st Century Health at Town Hall Seattle Event
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.
ISB’s Dr. Qiang Tian Joins Shanghai’s National Research Center for Translational Medicine
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.
Ozy’s ‘Future of X’ Podcast Features Drs. Jim Heath, Lee Hood
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.
New ‘scientific wellness’ strategy could cut chronic illnesses and save money
“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.
The Decades-Long Path That Led Philanthropist Carole Ellison to ISB
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.
Turn Health Care Right-Side Up: Focus On Wellness Not Disease
“Another vision for health care is emerging — one that is focused on wellness rather than disease; one that is proactive instead of reactive; one that takes a systems approach to biology and medicine rather than studying one gene, one cell or one protein at a time.” Read this Psychology Today story penned by ISB’s Lee Hood and Nathan Price.
Our Artwork Featured On Cover of Nature Biotechnology
The Institute for Systems Biology and Arivale “Pioneer 100 Study” is featured on the cover of August’s Nature Biotechnology. The artwork was created by ISB’s Associate Director of Communications Allison Kudla in collaboration with contributing author John C. Earls, software engineer in the Hood-Price Lab. About the cover: A subset of statistically significant correlations are extruded in three-dimensional space. Price et al. describe the integration of whole genome sequences; clinical…
Institute for Systems Biology and Arivale “Pioneer 100 Study” Establishes Foundation for New Industry of Scientific Wellness
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.
Scientific Wellness Meets Personalized Nutrition
Dr. Lee Hood, ISB president, and Nathan Price, ISB associate director, have joined the scientific advisory board of the newly launched Habit, which will begin to offer personalized nutrition plans based on your biology. From a recent Fast Company article: Neil Grimmer’s new startup, called Habit, aims to help others achieve their goals, whether it’s to lose weight or sleep more soundly. The company, which is launching in January, offers…
“Genomics, Big Data, Informatics and the Future of Medicine”: Nathan Price at the 2015 TLC
Nathan Price gave a talk titled “Genomics, Big Data, Informatics and the Future of Medicine” at the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute‘s (PLMI) 2015 Thought Leaders Consortium (TLC), held in Chicago, October 24-25. The theme of the 2015 TLC was the Future of Genomics in Healthcare: from Personalized Cancer Therapy to Wellness.
Genomics, Big Data, Informatics and the Future of Medicine
Nathan Price gave a talk titled “Genomics, Big Data, Informatics and the Future of Medicine” at the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute‘s (PLMI) 2015 Thought Leaders Consortium (TLC), held in Chicago, October 24-25. The theme of the 2015 TLC was the Future of Genomics in Healthcare: from Personalized Cancer Therapy to Wellness. Accessing the TLC 2015 videos requires a free subscription on the PLMI’s portal. Please register (for free) on this…
Science, tech, design & food converge at reThinkFood conference
ISB Associate Director Dr. Nathan Price participated in the panel discussion “Revolutions in Healthcare: Impacts on the Future of the Food Industry” during the reThinkFood conference at The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. The panelists each gave a short talk about his/her respective interests and then sat down to a discussion. It was an interesting intersection of perspectives from Kevin Slavin (MIT Media Lab), Molly Maloof (Physician Entrepreneur),…