Physics-based Simulation of Biological Structures

Physics-based Simulation of Biological Structures

Center URL: http://cbmc-web.stanford.edu/simbios/
PI: Russ Altman, M.D., Ph.D. (Stanford), Scott Delp, Ph.D. (Co-PI, Stanford)
PI Institution: Stanford University

NIH Program Officer (PO): Peter Lyster, Ph.D. (NIGMS)
NIH Lead Science Officer (LSO): Jennie Larkin, Ph.D. (NHLBI)
NIH Science Officers (SO): Jennifer Couch (NCI), Semahat Demir (NSF), Peter Highnam (NCRR), Jerry Li (NIGMS), Yuan Liu (NINDS) Richard Morris (NIAID), Joseph Pancrazio (NINDS), Grace Peng (NIBIB), David Thomassen (DOE), Ron White (NASA/USRA), Jane Ye (NLM)

ID: 1-U54-GM072970

Simbios Summary: Simbios (simbios.stanford.edu) is devoted to helping biomedical researchers understand biological form and function. It provides infrastructure, software, and training to assist users as they create novel drugs, synthetic tissues, medical devices, and surgical interventions. Consequently, it supports structure-function studies on a wide scale of biology - from molecules to organisms. Simbios scientists are currently focusing on challenging biological problems in RNA folding, myosin dynamics, neuromuscular biomechanics and cardiovascular dynamics. Simbios also provides the biomedical community with simtk.org, a free, secure, archival, distributed software repository and development system, where researchers and computational scientists can gather to collectively pursue their interests in physics-based simulation of biological structures. Simtk.org presents individual projects that may include models, software, data, documentation, publications, and graphics. Simtk.org is also the home of the SimTK simulation toolkit, our open-source, professionally developed software that provides advanced capabilities for modeling geometry and dynamics and facilitates physics-based simulation of biological systems. The toolkit and associated training materials result from a close collaboration with biomedical scientists. Simbios' broad dissemination efforts include (1) the Biomedical Computation Review, a magazine devoted to the science and tools in biocomputation, (2) Simbiome, a searchable inventory of high-quality commercial and academic bio-simulation tools, and (3) both onsite and distance learning materials for biomedical scientists and students.