# Software for collaborative construction, simulation, and analysis of mechanistic computational models of biological systems

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2022 · $222,750

## Abstract

Project Summary
The parent grant, 2R35GM119770, (“Multi-cellular and multi-scale systems modeling to understand the dynamics of the
human immune system in interdisciplinary applications”) supports my research program, which aims to identify how the
immune system can be rewired en masse to elicit higher-order decision-making while still enabling the system to remain
otherwise “healthy.” To this end, we are leveraging a highly interdisciplinary research team (computational and
experimental immunologists, software engineers, and education researchers) and collaborators to build a Virtual Immune
System -- a multi-scale, multi-approach computational framework to understand better the complex dynamical nature of
the immune system, identify more accurate multi-dimensional biomarkers, and identify safe and effective treatments
within a reasonable time and cost. In addition to expanding the Virtual Immune system, my program continues to develop
methods and technologies for data-driven model construction, visualization, computation, real-time simulations, and
reproducibility to advance multi-scale modeling of the immune system and beyond, including a cloud-based collaborative
modeling software, Cell Collective. Cell Collective is a core technology that enables us to continue to build collaborations
and deepen our existing relationships, including with translational partners to advance the impact of our systems work on
drug discovery, a large international team modeling COVID-19, and with virologists and immunologists to further validate
our computational predictions experimentally. This supplement will enable us to enhance the scalability, robustness, and
sustainability of Cell Collective, which is currently used by thousands of scientists and life sciences students, and
instructors around the world.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10609352
- **Project number:** 3R35GM119770-06S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** Tomas Helikar
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $222,750
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-09-01 → 2026-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10609352

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10609352, Software for collaborative construction, simulation, and analysis of mechanistic computational models of biological systems (3R35GM119770-06S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10609352. Licensed CC0.

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