About Us

DISCOVER
Headquartered in the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery, and with facilities that reach across The University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, IGSB is an engine for discovery that utilizes the latest approaches in genome analysis, high throughput screening, and biological computation.  Founded in 2006, IGSB has grown to seven core faculty with over 50 students and staff, as well as over sixty participating faculty Fellows who are making basic discoveries in the biological sciences.  Topics pursued by IGSB investigators are very diverse.  A sampling includes: the genetic mechanisms of cancer, the annotation of the human genome, the molecular networks that control development, the role of microbes in the planet’s carbon cycle, mining clinical records to identify disease interactions, mapping signaling networks in human cells, identification of lead molecules for a dozen different diseases, and many other complex biological problems that require systems-wide and genomic information to decode.

PREDICT
Most projects undertaken by IGSB investigators and their collaborators are aimed at turning Genomics and Systems Biology discoveries into methods that allow the prediction of complex systems. For example, the identification of genes involved in cancer can help predict patient outcome; the assembly of genomic networks can predict which molecules are the best drug targets; and the ability to predict the behavior of molecular complexes will help to design new therapies.  Massive amounts of data are produced and mined during the discovery process, and IGSB investigators develop and utilize the latest data mining and analytical approaches to distill these discoveries into the components that are predictive.

IMPROVE
The end goal is to improve human health and welfare.  Predictive approaches in hand, IGSB investigators collaborate with a wide range of clinical researchers, engineers, chemists, computer and social scientists to translate discoveries into useful tools.  Discoveries by IGSB investigators have led to new diagnostic markers for cancer, new computational approaches used by government and industry, new biotechnology tools, and a growing number of drug leads.  Translational research and development can be a long and painstaking process, and our investigators are committed to providing high quality discoveries that feed into the translational pipeline.