Gov. Inslee Hosts Round Table With College Students at ISB
systemsbiology.org/news/2015/03/16/gov-inslee-hosts-round-table-with-college-students-at-isb/
Gov. Jay Inslee hosted a round table discussion today at Institute for Systems Biology with a group of invited college students, who were asked to share their thoughts on the affordability of education. We were honored to be able to provide the venue. ISB has had a long history of supporting systemic change at the K-12 school district level to improve the quality and access of STEM education. Now, our education staff are working with community colleges in Washington State to consider how STEM-related courses might be revised to better reflect contemporary issues and needs to better prepare students for the job market. Learn more about ISB’s work through our Logan Center for Education and the Baliga Lab’s systems education program here.
ISB’s SVP and Director Dr. Nitin Baliga welcomes Gov. Inslee. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
Dana Riley Black, Director for ISB’s Logan Center for Education, greets Gov. Inslee before his round table discussion with area college students about affordability. March 16, 2015
Gov. Inslee meets college students who are attending the Governor’s round table discussion. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
Dr. Nitin Baliga, ISB’s SVP and Director, welcomes the group and provides a brief history of the Institute. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
Dr. Nitin Baliga, ISB’s SVP and Director, explains to Gov. Inslee, pictured right, about how ISB pioneered the systems approach and how it can be applied to human health, wellness, and environmental sustainability. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
Dr. Nitin Baliga, ISB’s SVP and Director, explains to Gov. Inslee and invited guests about how ISB pioneered the systems approach and how it can be applied to human health, wellness, and environmental sustainability. At left, a cameraman from KIRO TV filmed the meeting. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
Dr. Nitin Baliga, ISB’s SVP and Director, explains to Gov. Inslee and invited guests about how ISB pioneered the systems approach and how it can be applied to human health, wellness, and environmental sustainability. As well, Dr. Baliga emphasized ISB’s history in supporting STEM education at K-12 and college levels. Institute for Systems Biology/March 16, 2015
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ISB In the News: NIH, Viral Networks and Systems Biology
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…
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ISB at USA Science and Engineering Festival
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:…
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Free Systems Science Workshop for High School Teachers
FREE SUMMER SYSTEMS SCIENCE WORKSHOP AT ISB FOR TEACHERS: Registration for the summer systems science workshop for high school science, math and CTE teachers is now open. The workshop is hosted by Claudia Ludwig and Dina Kovarik, of the Baliga Lab at ISB, and takes place July 21-25. The focus is on how to implement systems science in the classroom. For more information about the workshop, please visit this site….
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Systems Biology + Systems Art
(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…
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ISB Impacts Education System Nationally and Locally
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…
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Summer Course Registration Is Now Open!
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…
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USA Science & Engineering Festival
Networks are everywhere – from communications and transportation to social and biological – but we take most of them for granted. Three ISB scientists (Chris Lausted, senior research engineer; Aaron Brooks, graduate student; and Martin Shelton, postdoc) and high school intern Sarah Williams are collaborating on a project for the USA Science & Engineering Festival on April 26-27 in Washington D.C. to demonstrate just how essential networks are. The team…
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USA Science & Engineering Festival
Networks are everywhere – from communications and transportation to social and biological – but we take most of them for granted. Three ISB scientists (Chris Lausted, senior research engineer; Aaron Brooks, graduate student; and Martin Shelton, postdoc) and high school intern Sarah Williams are collaborating on a project for the USA Science & Engineering Festival on April 26-27 in Washington D.C. to demonstrate just how essential networks are. The team…
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NOAA Ocean Acidification Webinar for Communicators & Educators
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries and Ocean Acidification Program is holding a webinar series starting March 19 through June on the topic: "Sharing Ocean Acidification Resources for Communicators and Educators." ISB's Claudia Ludwig, the Education Program Manager in the Baliga Lab, will present: Ocean Acidification: A Systems Approach to a Global Problem When: Wed., April 23, 2014, 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST) Primary Audience: Teachers, Formal Educators Project Website: http://baliga.systemsbiology.net/drupal/education/?q=content/ocean-acidification-systems-approach-global-problem…
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NOAA Ocean Acidification Webinar for Communicators & Educators
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries and Ocean Acidification Program is holding a webinar series starting March 19 through June on the topic: "Sharing Ocean Acidification Resources for Communicators and Educators." ISB's Claudia Ludwig, the Education Program Manager in the Baliga Lab, will present: Ocean Acidification: A Systems Approach to a Global Problem When: Wed., April 23, 2014, 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST) Primary Audience: Teachers, Formal Educators Project Website: http://baliga.systemsbiology.net/drupal/education/?q=content/ocean-acidification-systems-approach-global-problem…
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Best Way to Get Kids to Like Science? Inspire Teachers
By Hillary Lauren Science teachers and principals from Schmitz Park and Arbor Heights Elementary Schools in West Seattle attended a day-long workshop co-hosted at the Institute for Systems Biology. During their visit to ISB, the educators were enthusiastic to collaborate, learn about new curriculum materials, and see first-hand what an innovative science research space looks like at ISB. “The day signified much more than these teachers learning about some instructional…
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Now Accepting ISB Internship Applications
ISB’s summer internships for high school and undergraduate students are highly competitive — who wouldn’t want to work leading experts in systems biology research? The application process is now open. If you or someone you know may be interested in applying, visit the following links: High School Internships Undergraduate Internships
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Science Education Impact
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.
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Valerie Logan Luncheon Raises $50K for Science Education Programs at ISB
The Second Annual Valerie Logan Luncheon, which took place on Nov. 13, raised just over $50,000 (UPDATE: As of Dec. 18, 2013, the total funds raised has reached more than $60,000) for our education programs at Institute for Systems Biology. Guest speaker Julia Joo, who spent her summer as a high school intern here at ISB, shared with us the educational journey that led her to choose science as a…
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ISB Hosts 2nd Annual Valerie Logan Luncheon on Nov. 13
Photo above: Valerie Logan during the 2012 Valerie Logan Luncheon. To inspire students and imbue them with a love for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), we must inspire their teachers. ISB has always held this philosophy and, at the 2nd Annual Valerie Logan Luncheon on Nov. 13, we will celebrate our vision for bringing quality STEM education to all students and also honor Dr. Meena Selvakumar as the recipient…
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Lee Hood’s 75th Birthday Party Photo Gallery
Dr. Lee Hood's 75th birthday party took place at ISB on Oct. 10. Here's the photo gallery. As part of the presentations, Dr. Nitin Baliga (ISB's Director and SVP) shared a fun video he made using footage he shot during the faculty retreat. Exactly how many PhDs does it take to find a Prius battery? Watch and find out:
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WA State Adopts Next Generation Science Standards
PRESS RELEASE SEATTLE, Oct. 3, 2013 – After a two-year process, Washington State will officially adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It is the eighth state in the country to make the commitment. Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) has been one of the leaders in the process of developing the standards and preparing local school districts for the implementation of NGSS. “It is unusual for a nonprofit scientific research…
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ISB Leads the Way in Helping Washington Schools Adopt and Implement Next Generation Science Standards
Washington State is expected to be among the first 10 states to officially adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. The NGSS were released in spring 2013 after a two-year development process and reflect the most contemporary research on science and science learning in determining what K-12 students ought learn in order to be prepared for college. Washington State is one of 26 lead states that have been instrumental in the…
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Guest Post: Harvard at ISB
Guest Post By Alia Qatarneh Research Assistant, Life Sciences Outreach Program Harvard University The realm of research is changing. The understanding of a scientific phenomenon is no longer a journey on a one-way road. It is an active collaboration between many departments, professionals, and experts, resulting in interdisciplinary frameworks that can tackle the vast principles of biology. Systems biology combines those aspects and allows for the exploration of how components…
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UW Students Get a Taste of Systems Biology
“It was very interesting to learn how all the different backgrounds, such as one person having majored in physics, computer science, or chemistry, can come together to achieve a goal. Also, how some have bachelors or postdoc degrees. I also learned more about how PDMS is used and how there are teams that create their own equipment for experiments and data.” – LSAMP Student This afternoon, a group of freshmen…
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Greater Good: Successful High School Interns
Every summer, ISB welcomes a group of high school interns, hosted through our Systems Education Experiences program. ISB is proud of its collaborative and cross-disciplinary culture and we work hard to nurture an environment that allows our staff to achieve at a high level. It was especially gratifying to get this comment from one of our interns, who had just completed her time here: “At ISB, I witnessed collaboration that…
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Connecting the Dots: NPR TB Story
WHAT YOU HEARD IN THE NEWS: NPR aired this story (on Sept. 5) about research just published in the journal Nature Genetics suggesting that tuberculosis may have existed more than 70,000 years ago. Tuberculosis Hitched a Ride When Early Humans Left Africa ‘ “The old, traditional view was that tuberculosis emerged during the Neolithic transition when people started to domesticate animals and develop agriculture, which started about 10,000 years ago,”…
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Collaboration: $16.6M TB Grant
ISB will collaborate with Seattle BioMed and ETH Zurich on a $16.6 million tuberculosis grant from the National Institutes of Health. Seattle BioMed issued this press release today: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEATTLE, AUG. 15 — Seattle BioMed has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, that will take a comprehensive systems approach to the problem of tuberculosis…
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Open Science: A Hack Your PhD Interview with Dr. Nitin Baliga
Célya Gruson-Daniel, the founder of HackYourPhD, has been traveling across the United States to make a documentary about open science. She stopped by ISB on Aug. 5, 2013, to interview Dr. Nitin Baliga, who is our senior vice president and director. The short interview is below. Learn more about the Hack Your PhD documentary at this site: http://hackyourphd.org/USA
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K-12 Science Education: MESA Math Scholars Visit ISB
Just as the Seattle tourist traffic picks up in the summer, the intern and visitor traffic at ISB spikes during July and August. It’s always inspiring to see the fresh faces of high school students in our halls. On Aug. 7, the MESA Math Scholars came to ISB to visit our labs and spend some time with a few of our scientists. MESA stands for Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement and…
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To Inspire Students, We Have to Inspire their Teachers
JUNE 24, 2013 — Dr. Lee Hood, ISB’s president, says that we have to “infect” kids with the excitement of science. The same can be said about their teachers. It may even be more crucial to inspire teachers, because they’re the ones who have the most impact on the greatest number of kids. At ISB, the transfer of knowledge to society is a part of our core. Supporting K-12 science…
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ISB Education Team: Next Gen Science Standards for Teachers
ISB is committed to K-12 science education. Today, to launch a new OSPI Math & Science Partnership, we are hosting 40 teachers from Seattle Public Schools and 20 teachers from Renton Public Schools to help them develop curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (and how all that fits with Common Core Standards). Go, ISB education team! (Full gallery)
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ISB Recieves $1.8M Grant for Ocean Acidification Research
Congratulations to Dr. Mónica Orellana and Dr. Nitin Baliga on their new grant for $1.8 million from the National Science Foundation. The project title is “Ocean Acidification: A Systems Biology Approach to Characterize Diatom Response to Ocean Acidification and Climate Change.” Abstract from the proposal: Diatoms account for approximately 40 percent of primary production in the world’s oceans and are the most productive marine phytoplankton group. They form the basis…
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We Study Microbes Because It’s Good for Your Health
Here’s a piece adapted from Michael Pollan’s latest book “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation” which discusses how processed foods and the modern diet have made us more obese and more likely to get sick. He makes a case for eating more fermented foods that haven’t been pasteurized – probiotics, live-culture foods – in order to get the good bacteria back in our guts. At ISB, the microbiome is an…
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ISB K-12 Science Education Team Helps ‘STEM’ School Develop Curriculum
Riverpoint Academy in Spokane has been working with ISB’s K-12 science education team to develop curriculum that falls under “STEM” – science, technology, engineering and math. Riverpoint describes itself as a STEM school that also teaches arts, humanities and entrepreneurship. Some educators and administrators from Riverpoint and the Mead School District, as well as other community leaders visited ISB on May 3 and 4 to participate in a workshop to…
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Systems Biology and Systems Medicine Curriculum in Middle and High Schools?
By Dana Riley Black, Director of ISB’s Center for Inquiry Science Healthcare continues to be listed as a “high-demand” field, meaning there continue to be significant and projected employment opportunities in the field. A recent employment gap analysis by Washington State released on April 3 suggests a projected deficit of 472 healthcare jobs filled annually in the state (see: http://www.wtb.wa.gov/HighDemandFields.asp). As a result, many middle and high schools are turning…
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