Institute for Systems Biology Awarded $12 Million to Study Innate Immunity
Funding is part of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant focused on innovative approaches to understanding complex systems

Seattle – Wednesday, January 8, 2003 -- The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), a non-profit research institute dedicated to the study and application of systems biology announced today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a multi-year $24 million grant to scientists at the ISB, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, CA and The Rockefeller University in New York. The funding will be used to define all of the components in the innate immune response system – the human body’s first line of defense against disease.

“This grant will enable us to establish a complete parts list of the innate immune response to infection,” stated Dr. Alan Aderem, ISB director and head of immunology. “Once completed, it will take us a giant step forward in our ability to establish new drug targets and innovative approaches to vaccine development.”

As its name indicates, innate immunity is inborn and provides an all-purpose defense against invasion. Components include the skin, mucous membranes, chemicals such as stomach acid, and a number of cell types capable of detecting and engulfing foreign agents.

Researchers at the ISB, Scripps and Rockefeller University have all been at the leading edge in the study of the innate immune system and are recognized as the foremost figures in the field of immunity. As a result, NIAID has called upon them to take on the daunting task of identifying the thousands of biochemical changes that occur in white blood cells when the innate immune system encounters infectious agents. Unlike the highly specific antibodies, which are produced in almost infinite variety and which match a particular disease organism like a key in a lock, cells of the innate immune system react generically to a wide range of substances, including molecules found in the cell walls of many kinds of pathogens.

Immunologists have studied the immune response one gene, one protein or one cell at a time. However, after more than 100 years of study, immunologists do not understand the systems properties of the immune system. Systems biology takes a revolutionary approach to biological research that studies all the elements of a biological organism simultaneously.

A great leap in our understanding of the immune system has been made possible as a result of the Human Genome Project. Now, the post-genomic challenge is to discover how these parts function together in complex systems in both normal and disease states by understanding multiple layers of biological information: genes, mRNAs, and proteins. To achieve these understandings, scientific organizations such as the ISB have established critical resources including facilities to generate large-scale data for each gene, mRNA, and protein; scientific experts working in a cross-disciplinary manner; technologists to invent more global and sensitive tools for analyzing biological information; and computer scientists to develop bioinformatics tools for biological system testing and modeling.

“This grant represents NIAID’s strong commitment to innovative approaches and the application of new technologies in biology and medicine,” stated Dr. Richard J. Ulevitch, head of TSRI’s immunology department and the project’s principal investigator. “We appreciate the NIAID’s vision in funding a project of this magnitude and look forward to leveraging the expertise in biology and high-throughput technology platforms at the participating institutions.”

Researchers will apply these new techniques that straddle the divide between biology and information science to fathom the workings of innate immunity. The results will serve as the building blocks for establishing new biological models and scenarios, and thereby, greatly increasing the ability and speed at which the biological and medical communities can predict and prevent disease.

“The Institute for Systems Biology is widely recognized for its cross disciplinary approach, high throughput genomics and proteomics facilities, and computational infrastructure,” stated Aderem. “This technological and computational infrastructure enables us to acquire and store large amounts of data that we can in turn, model at astounding speed. In addition, availability of the sequenced human genome and our new understanding of the immune system permit multi-parameter analysis will allow holistic understanding of the immune response to infection.”

Approximately fifty percent -- $12 million -- of the $24 million grant was awarded to the Institute for Systems Biology.

About the Institute for Systems Biology
The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is an internationally renowned non-profit research institute dedicated to the study and application of systems biology. ISB's goal is to unravel the mysteries of human biology and identify strategies for predicting and preventing diseases such as cancer, arthritis and AIDS. The driving force behind the innovative "systems" approach is the integration of biology, computation, and technology. This approach allows scientists to analyze all of the elements in a system rather than one gene or protein at a time. Located in Seattle, Washington, the Institute has grown to more than 170 faculty and staff members; has been awarded almost $130 million in funding; and has an extensive network of academic and industrial partners. For more information, contact: www.systemsbiology.org.

About the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, illness from potential agents of bioterrorism, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.