News

Drs. Anthony Fauci, Lee Hood Talk COVID-19, Vaccines, Future of Research, More

NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci sat down for a conversation with ISB’s Dr. Lee Hood. The renowned scientists spoke about the importance of basic research, the extraordinary speed of COVID research, the efficacy of mRNA vaccines on COVID-19, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more. 

Priyanka Baloni

Bile Acids Provide More Evidence of the Gut Microbiome’s Effect on Alzheimer’s Disease

ISB researchers and their collaborators are looking beyond the one-drug, one-solution approach that has thus far failed in Alzheimer’s disease research. Instead, they are focusing on other promising research avenues, such as the possible role of the gut microbiome in dementia.

Overall composition of gut microbiome in participants

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.

Andrew Magis

ISB Researchers Identify Signals of Metastatic Cancer Years Prior to Diagnosis

By analyzing blood plasma samples taken at several time points, ISB researchers have identified specific proteins that persistently presented as outliers and signaled metastatic cancer well before patients were diagnosed. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Illustration depicting an individual's genetic risk for disease being "reflected."

ISB Researchers Show Genetic Risk for Disease Often Reflected in Our Blood

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.

Leroy Hood: Leading the systems biology revolution

ISB Co-founder Dr. Lee Hood won the Lasker Award in 1987. The Lasker Foundation recently published a profile of Hood, writing: “The highlights Hood’s scientific career are like peaks in a mountain range spanning diverse fields, from molecular immunology and engineering, to genomics, to systems medicine.”

Bacterial tug of war between prevotella and bacteroides -- gut microbiome

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.

Dr. Jeff Ranish and Dr. Mark Gillespie

Mysteries of Cell Fate Unlocked with New Measurement and Modeling Techniques 

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’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.

Town Hall Seattle panel

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.

Qiang Tian, MD, PhD

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.

Lee Hood at Visions of the Future

‘Visions of the Future’ Symposium Honors Dr. Lee Hood on his 80th Birthday

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.

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.

ISB’s proteomics research in the spotlight

Microsoft Research recently deployed a video crew to come to ISB to speak with our researchers about proteomics and sharing peptide data. A story featuring the video was published on the Microsoft Research blog.