BioQuant is Heidelberg University's interdisciplinary Research Center for Quantitative Analysis of Molecular and Cellular Systems. The center is regarded as a hub for research and teaching in quantitative biology. Work at BioQuant integrates quantitative experimentation, cutting-edge technology and computing to advance an integrative understanding of the complexity of the systems studied. Such "cross-boundary" research is timely and has become necessary for answering numerous questions in biological and medical systems.
The Modeling of Biological Processes group specializes in developing computational methods for analyzing biochemical networks and applying these methods to relevant biological systems. On one side, its focus lies in the development of computational methods for modelling, simulating, and analyzing biochemical networks, with a constant drive to innovate algorithms that deepen the understanding of these systems. These algorithms are then shared with the scientific community through the software package COPASI, which garners approximately 100,000 downloads per release. Moreover, the group is actively engaged in the development of standardized data exchange protocols and in application projects on relevant biological systems. It collaborates extensively both within BioQuant and with partners on campus, applying its methods to model signalling and metabolic networks in various organisms. Within the De.KCD project the group works together with the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) to provide a combined knowledge on Data Management Platforms following the FAIR principle and making respective solutions available via cloud.