About Us

The Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology (IGSB) was founded at the University of Chicago by Kevin White in 2006. The goal of the IGSB is to accelerate the translation of basic discoveries in genome science into practical benefits for society.

Our research focuses on approaches to discover new diagnostic and therapeutic targets and strategies for understanding human diseases. Drawing on expertise of investigators from more than twenty different departments across the Biological Sciences (BSD) and Physical Sciences (PSD) Divisions at the University of Chicago, IGSB unites world's leading researchers to solve complex biological problems that require an interdisciplinary approach. More than seventy faculty members from the University of Chicago, ANL and other Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) schools (Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Chicago) are currently IGSB fellows performing investigations of biological systems from a wide variety of perspectives, including experimental, computational and theoretical points of view.

To stimulate and enable systems biology research, IGSB established cutting edge research facilities for use by its fellows and their collaborators. We have established an advanced Cellular Screening Center (CSC)) with the support of the CBC, which houses a high-throughput facility for chemical and genetic cell screening. The High-throughput Genome Analysis Core (HGAC) at ANL has been in operation to offer ultra-high-throughput sequencing services as well.

We are also implementing the following innovative research infrastructures: (i) an advanced imaging system to visualization of proteins and genes in live cells and tissues; (ii) artificial chromosome engineering Core to support the manipulation of genes and production of transgenic cells and animals; and (iii) an open-source cloud-based bioinformatics platform called the Chicago Utility for Biological Sciences (CUBios), which contains a data repository and a data analysis pipeline for the scientific community. IGSB fellows and others from the broader Chicago scientific community are currently using these services for a very wide array of projects.