Modeling of Biological Processes

Research Strategy

We are constantly developing algorithms that allow a more thorough understanding of the inner workings of biochemical systems. These algorithms are made available to the scientific community by integration in our software package COPASI (about 17,000 downloads per release). We are also heavily involved in the development of standardized data exchange. Apart from method development, we have been applying the methods in projects modeling both signaling as well as metabolic networks in different organisms, often with collaborators in house or on campus. As an example, understanding information processing in calcium signal transduction and information processing therein, interferon and TGFb signalling and the activation of human neutrophilic leukocytes have been some of the major topics. 

In collaboration with the group of Sven Sahle, we will continue to develop new methodology, more and more aiming to support the modeling of cell biological spatio-temporal systems, e.g., allowing live-cell imaging data to be used for parameter fitting and being the main data source for the models. At the same time, within the new faculty for engineering, we want to work on applications of computational modeling in the context of urgent societal questions, e.g., the reduction of animal testing in drug discovery (project with the groups of Holger Erfle and Vytaute Starkuviene in house) or ecological questions, e.g., in plant development.