BioModels data resource moves to the University of Florida

BioModels, the open repository for computational models in systems biology, is moving from EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) to the University of Florida. The move offers sustainability, new growth opportunities and continued access for the global computational modelling community.

For nearly two decades, BioModels has been hosted and maintained by EMBL-EBI, providing open and reproducible access to high-quality mathematical models. From autumn 2025 BioModels will be hosted at the University of Florida (UF), College of Medicine. It will be maintained by the Laboratory for Systems Medicine at UF, which will assume full responsibility for its operations, curation, and future development.

A responsible transition

EMBL-EBI will maintain an archival copy of all BioModels data within its BioStudies repository. This ensures that curated models remain accessible to the community through EMBL-EBI’s resources, preserving the BioModels legacy while transferring its infrastructure, data and future development to its new home.

The transition is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025, at which point, the University of Florida will take full ownership of the data repository, managing its infrastructure, technical maintenance, and accepting the submission of new models from the community. 

“EMBL-EBI remains committed to the principle of open science and will ensure that all previously submitted models are preserved within BioStudies,” said Henning Hermjakob, Team Leader at EMBL-EBI. “The transition to our collaborators at the University of Florida allows BioModels to thrive in a new academic setting with strong leadership, while aligning with EMBL-EBI’s strategic priorities.”

“The Laboratory for Systems Medicine at the University of Florida is excited and honoured to contribute to the further development of this unique community resource, and we look forward to supporting Rahuman Sheriff as the leader of the BioModels project,” said Reinhard C. Laubenbacher, Dean’s Professor of Systems Medicine and Director of the Laboratory for Systems Medicine at the University of Florida. “Now more than ever, BioModels can play a central role in sustaining and expanding the use of computational modelling in systems biology and biomedicine.”

Rahuman Sheriff, who has been leading BioModels at EMBL-EBI, will oversee this transition, as an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Florida. Sheriff will continue to lead the maintenance and expansion of BioModels in the years to come. This leadership continuity ensures BioModels remains an active resource for the computational biology community. 

“The transition to the University of Florida is an exciting step for BioModels,” said Sheriff, BioModels Senior Project Leader. “This move ensures that BioModels will continue to serve the scientific community while opening new doors for funding, research collaborations, and technological advancements.”

TJ Sego, Assistant Professor at the Laboratory of Systems Medicine, at the University of Florida, will facilitate and support the transfer and maintenance of the BioModels data resource.

Maintaining continuity of service

The transition will be carefully coordinated between EMBL-EBI and the UF Laboratory for Systems Medicine to minimise disruptions for users. Web users shouldn’t see any disruptions to the service over the course of the transition. 

The community should start using the URL https://biomodels.org/, which will be automatically redirected to the University of Florida instance once the migration has finished. The current BioModels website will continue to be online until late 2025. 

In due course, new computational access guidelines will be shared with computational users and developers of software that uses BioModels.

To keep up to date with the latest news, please follow the BioModels X account and use the BioModels contact page for any questions.