A virtual map of how the human immune system works
Official title: Multi-cellular and multi-scale systems modeling to understand the dynamics of the human immune system in interdisciplinary applications
Funded at University of Nebraska Lincoln · NIH-11234267 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are building a computer-based 'virtual immune system' to better understand immune behavior and help guide safer, faster treatments for people with immune-related conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nebraska Lincoln NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lincoln, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2016 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $371,250 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM119770-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11234267 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with immune-related conditions—such as autoimmune disorders, immunodeficiencies, or individuals receiving immune-targeting treatments—would be most likely to benefit from the project's findings or be eligible for follow-up studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without immune-system disorders or those needing immediate clinical care are unlikely to see direct, short-term benefits from this primarily computational work.
What this research studies
This project creates a multi-scale computer platform that simulates how immune cells and signaling molecules interact from inside individual cells up to whole-cell networks. An interdisciplinary team combines computer models, lab experiments, and software engineering to feed real biological data into those simulations. By running many virtual scenarios, the team aims to find new multi-dimensional biomarkers and to identify treatment strategies that are likely to be safe and effective. Over the funding period they will expand the models, validate them against experimental data, and develop tools other researchers can use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to better tests to track immune diseases and speed development of safer, more targeted immune therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Related systems-immunology and computational modeling efforts have produced promising insights and biomarkers, but a full multi-scale 'virtual immune system' is an ambitious and relatively novel effort.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Lincoln, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Helikar, Tomas — University of Nebraska Lincoln
- Study coordinator: Helikar, Tomas
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.