Open Virtual Tissues (OpenVT) is an Open Source Agent-Based Multicellular Modeling and Simulation Community Interested in Model Publication Standards and Reproducibility

The Open Virtual Tissues (OpenVT) initiative leads a community of experts in complex multicellular modeling. We are united by a commitment to open-source solutions and cross-disciplinary collaboration. By advancing reproducible and impactful models, we're setting new standards, moving Virtual Tissue Modeling and Simulation from the lab to the global stage.

OpenVT seeks to build an engaged community of researchers - modelers and software engineers who use and develop open source multicellular modeling frameworks. These frameworks allow virtual experiments (simulations) of cell behaviors within tissues and organs.

Announcing the 2025 OpenVT Multicellular Modelling Workshop at the Annual Society of Mathematical Biology (SMB) meeting

Time

Sunday July 13th, 2025 9:30am-5:00pm Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

Venue

Aurora Room in Lister Centre at the University of Alberta

Community Development of Multicellular Virtual Tissues: The OpenVT project

New Open Source Community

Launched in 2024, this initiative brings together top biologists, computer scientists, and virtual tissue modelers to advance multicellular virtual tissue modeling and address real-world problems.

Global Expert Collaboration

We convened 72 expert participants from around the world who are helping collect best practices from industry, researchers, regulatory agencies, and practitioners to understand and support advanced multicellular virtual tissue modeling. Currently we are focusing on horizontal solutions and tools in the areas of model validation, reproducibility, and calibration.

Why Virtual Tissue Modeling?

Those working in the community of Multicellular Modeling or Virtual Tissue Simulation, provide tools that are a new lens through which we can explore and quantify the intricacies of biological systems. These models aim to decipher the dynamics resulting from the interplay of computer science, biochemistry, biology, and physics. A virtual tissue model encompasses cells as active agents, network models within cells, spatial contexts such as diffusible chemical fields, and sometimes non-spatial models, such as pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PBPK) models for whole-body transport.

How do cells organize into tissues during development?

What are the underlying mechanisms of tissue function?

How do tissues respond to external stimuli or injuries?

What leads to the failure of tissues and the development of diseases?