Dr. Ilya Shumlevich in front of his office door at ISB in November 2023. (Scott Eklund/Redbox Photography) Devoted husband and father. Animal lover. Accomplished pianist. Avid cyclist. Compassionate human. Exceptional scientist. The ISB community mourns the loss of Professor Ilya Shmulevich, PhD, who died on April 13, 2024, from complications from acute myeloid leukemia. He was 54 years old. “Ilya’s impact on his lab, fellow faculty, ISB as a whole, and all who had the pleasure of knowing him cannot be adequately expressed. Ilya was an outstanding scientist, mentor, colleague, collaborator ..read more

ISB Associate Professor Dr. Sean Gibbons delivered a Research Roundtable presentation and highlighted human gut microbiome research being conducted in his lab, including the development of a new tool called My Digital Gut. Watch his presentation by clicking play on the video above.  The human microbiome – the trillions of microbial cells that live on and in our bodies – is unique to everyone. Even identical twins have microbiome compositions that differ widely.  ISB Associate Professor Dr. Sean Gibbons has spent the past few years looking at how individuals respond differen ..read more

Each month throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, we will highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. April Presented SEE’s classroom resources at the WA Climate Education Summit  ISB Educators Barb Steffens, Claudia Ludwig, and Sarah Clemente traveled to Spokane, Wash., for ClimeTime’s second annual Climate Education Summit. This year’s summit brought more than 100 educators from around Washington state to the Northeast Washington Educational Service District. First, Claudia hosted a table that served a constant stream of teachers, with curricular resources ..read more

Each month throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, we will highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. March Paper Published in Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications A team of Systems Education Experiences (SEE) authors unveiled important insights and actionable protocols into providing equitable STEM experiences for high school students from historically marginalized communities. The research highlights the transformative power of informal STEM learning in addressing societal challenges and the ease with which many organizations could provide the ..read more

An Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)-led study has unveiled important insights and actionable protocols into providing equitable STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) experiences for high school students from historically marginalized communities. The research highlights the transformative power of informal STEM learning in addressing societal challenges and the ease with which many organizations could provide these important opportunities.  In a paper published in the Nature journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, ISB researchers demonstrated significa ..read more

Combined, infection, autoimmunity and cancer account for four out of every 10 deaths worldwide, and represent major global health challenges. In a just-published paper in the journal Cell Reports, Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) researchers highlight a novel immune response discovery of how the human immune system works in common ways across diseases, and offer promising avenues for exploring multi-disease therapeutic strategies. Many therapies, while effective for one class of disease, may aggravate others. Cancer treatments like immune checkpoint blockade, for example, can trigger autoim ..read more

Each month throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, we will highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. February Record number of undergrads apply for ISB Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program The application deadline for ISB’s undergraduate internship program closed on February 26. This year, 779 students applied to the program. In the coming months, ISB Education will be supporting ISB Scientists to interview and select students to join us for the summer.    Learn more about the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program.  &nbs ..read more

UPDATE On February 1, ISB President Dr. Jim Heath was the featured speaker of our first Research Roundtable event of 2024. In his presentation, Heath delivered a talk, titled “The Future of Cancer Immunotherapy.”  Watch his presentation by clicking play above or by going here. And continue reading below for our original story detailing his work. ORIGINAL STORY T cells are soldiers on the front lines of the human immune system. They are responsible for many important roles, including attacking viral- or bacterial-infected cells and certain cancer cells, and immunological memory – reme ..read more

For many aspiring mothers with autoimmune disease, pregnancy can be daunting and full of unknowns. In some cases, those suffering from specific autoimmune conditions have chosen to forego pregnancy altogether due to concerns about their disease treatments and adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a just-published study in the journal Lancet eClinical Health, ISB and Providence researchers showed nuanced pregnancy outcomes for pregnant individuals with autoimmune disease. The findings reinforce that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and provides important new avenues for further investigation ..read more

Each month throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, we will highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. January ISB’s ClimeTime project is underway ISB is conducting workshops for K-12 teachers several days a week through the spring. We use climate science phenomena as the centerpieces for learning science and for experiencing best practices in teaching. Learn more about ISB’s role at https://www.climetime.org/cbo-grantees/isb/. Washington’s ClimeTime gets a nod in this New York Times story: “For the subject matter to resonate with students, there should be more tea ..read more