Physiome Sciences

What Physiome Sciences does

The NSR Physiome Project (operated under the name Physiome Sciences) is an academic research initiative, not a commercial enterprise, that develops and distributes the JSim Modeling System, a simulation platform for physiological modeling built around the Mathematical Modeling Language (MML). The system supports platform-independent web operation of models and provides downloadable source code via GitHub, supplemented by the JSim Modular Program Constructor (MPC) for composing modular simulations. Its core asset is an extensive repository of peer-reviewed physiological models covering genome, proteome, morphome, and functional behavior across cells, tissues, and species, with SBML, Matlab, and Fortran translations to maximize interoperability with adjacent modeling communities.

Originally hosted at the University of Washington's Department of Bioengineering since 1980 under James B. Bassingthwaighte (MD, PhD), the project relocated in July 2021 to NIH/NIBIB in Washington DC under the Interagency Modeling and Analysis Group (IMAG) led by Grace Peng (PhD). The project is sustained entirely by NIH and NSF research grants (notably U01HL122199, BE08407, T15 HL88516-01, BES-0506477, R01 HL073598, P41 RR01243, and R01 EB001973), with international coordination provided by the IUPS Physiome Commission and complementary activities at the University of Auckland. All software, models, and tutorials are distributed free of charge to academic researchers in computational biology, physiology, and biomedical engineering; there is no commercial revenue model, no pricing tiers, and no disclosed revenue. The user base is academic, with named institutional collaborators including UW, UCSD (Cardiac Mechanics Research Group), University of Michigan (Virtual Physiological Rat Project), and Sauro Lab.

Name

Physiome Sciences

Legal name

NSR Physiome Project (National Simulation Resource for Circulatory Mass Transport and Exchange)

Website

https://physiome.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The NSR Physiome Project (Physiome Sciences) is a non-commercial academic initiative developing the JSim simulation platform and a peer-reviewed physiological model repository, funded entirely by NIH/NSF grants and serving academic researchers in computational biology and physiology worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington D.C.

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding (Primary): The NSR Physiome Project is funded entirely through NIH and NSF research grants, including U01HL122199, NIH/NIBIB BE08407, NIH/NHLBI T15 HL88516-01, NSF BES-0506477, NIH/NHLBI R01 HL073598, NIH/NCRR P41 RR01243, and NIH/NIBIB R01 EB001973. No commercial revenue model exists; software and models are provided free to the research community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The NSR Physiome Project (Physiome Sciences) develops and distributes JSim, an open simulation software platform for physiological modeling using the Mathematical Modeling Language (MML), along with a peer-reviewed repository of physiological models available in MML, SBML, Matlab, and Fortran formats. All tools, models, tutorials, and databases are provided free of charge to academic researchers worldwide, with the project funded entirely by NIH and NSF research grants.

Product overview

The NSR Physiome Project (Physiome Sciences) is a research resource hosted by NIH/NIBIB that provides a suite of physiological modeling and simulation tools. The core offering is the JSim Modeling System, a downloadable simulation platform with web-based model operation capabilities. The ecosystem includes the JSim Modular Program Constructor (MPC) for building modular models, and the NSR Physiome Model Repository containing peer-reviewed physiological models available in multiple formats (MML, SBML, Matlab, Fortran). Supporting resources include tutorials and educational materials for reproducible modeling practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JSim Modeling System: A simulation software platform for physiological modeling provided by the NSR Physiome Project
• JSim Modular Program Constructor (MPC)
• Physiome Commission

Products and services

• JSim Modeling System An open simulation analysis platform for physiological modeling that supports the Mathematical Modeling Language (MML) and provides platform-independent web operation of models. Available for download with source code on GitHub. Targeted at academic researchers in computational biology, physiology, and biomedical engineering.
• NSR Physiome Model Repository A database of physiological models and tutorials supporting reproducible modeling practices, including SBML translations, Matlab, and Fortran implementations of models published in refereed journals. Models cover genome to organism scale biology including cardiovascular, respiratory, and multiscale biological systems.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NIH/National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2021Current host institution for the Physiome.org website. Managed by the Interagency Modeling and Analysis Group (IMAG) under Director Grace Peng, PhD. NIBIB provides ongoing funding through grants including U01HL122199 and NIH/NIBIB BE08407.
• University of Washington Department of BioengineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal host institution for the National Simulation Resource (NSR) for four decades (1980s-2021). James B. Bassingthwaighte, MD, PhD serves as Professor of Bioengineering and Radiology at UW. The department provides research infrastructure and academic leadership for physiological modeling research.
• International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIUPS provides sponsorship and leadership to the Physiome Project through its Physiome Commission. Coordinates international satellite and central meetings. The physiomeproject.org website is primarily sponsored by IUPS and led by Peter Hunter at University of Auckland.
• University of Auckland / Peter HuntercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeter Hunter leads the IUPS Physiome Project website (physiome.org.nz) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Provides complementary simulation software and models for international physiological integration efforts.
• Virtual Physiological Rat ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research initiative (virtualrat.org) focused on understanding systems biology of cardiovascular disease. Part of the broader Physiome Project consortium at University of Michigan.
• Cardiac Mechanics Research Group (UCSD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch group at UC San Diego investigating mechanics and electrical dynamics of the normal and diseased heart from molecular to organ scales. Provides collaborative modeling contributions to the Physiome Project.
• Heart and Muscle Mechanics (HAMM) Lab, UWminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch laboratory at University of Washington using interdisciplinary, multiscale approaches to study contraction in healthy and diseased muscles and develop myofilament-based therapies.
• Sauro Lab (Systems Biology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaboratory at UW developing modeling tools for systems and synthetic biologists. Listed as part of biological control systems, modeling, and software collaborative network.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cardiac Mechanics Research Group (UCSD): UCSD's CMRG investigates cardiac mechanics and electrical dynamics from molecular to organ scales and is a listed collaborative modeling contributor to the Physiome Project, working on the same heart-modeling use cases as NSR's cardiac power grid and circulatory mass transport resources.
• HAMM Lab (University of Washington): UW's Heart and Muscle Mechanics Lab uses multiscale modeling for muscle contraction and myofilament-based therapies, listed as a Physiome Project collaborator — directly comparable as a multiscale physiological modeling research group sharing NSR's institutional and methodological ecosystem.
• Sauro Lab / Systems Biology (University of Washington): Sauro Lab at UW develops modeling tools for systems and synthetic biologists (including the Systems Biology Workbench) and is a listed collaborator on the NSR Physiome Project — directly comparable as an open-source systems biology modeling and simulation tool provider in the same institutional network.
• CellML / Physiome Project (University of Auckland): Peter Hunter's CellML-based Physiome Project at University of Auckland is the most direct counterpart to NSR/JSim, providing complementary open-source modeling standards, model repositories, and simulation tools for multiscale physiological modeling — explicitly partnered with NSR under the IUPS Physiome Commission.
• VCell: VCell is an open-source computational cell modeling platform developed at the University of Connecticut that provides simulation, model management, and analysis tools for cell biological systems — directly comparable to JSim as an academic simulation platform for biomedical researchers.
• COPASI: COPASI is an open-source biochemical network simulation tool used widely in systems biology for ODE-based modeling, parameter estimation, and metabolic/kinetic analysis — overlapping with NSR's mission of multiscale physiological simulation software distributed free to academic users.
• Virtual Physiological Rat Project (University of Michigan): A consortium project at the University of Michigan focused on multiscale systems biology modeling of cardiovascular disease in the rat — explicitly listed as a Physiome Project partner and operating in the same multiscale physiological modeling niche as NSR.

Broad incumbents

• MathWorks (MATLAB / Simulink): MathWorks provides MATLAB and Simulink, the dominant general-purpose technical computing and simulation platform in academic bioengineering — NSR distributes Matlab-format implementations of its models specifically for compatibility with this broader incumbent ecosystem.
• COMSOL: COMSOL provides multiphysics simulation software widely used in biomedical engineering research for organ-level and tissue-level modeling — comparable to JSim as a simulation platform serving the same academic biomedical research audience, though broader in physical-sciences scope.

Emerging players

• PySB: PySB is a Python-based framework for systems biology modeling that overlaps with JSim's modeling mission but is built on a modern, data-science-friendly stack — emerging as an alternative that younger computational biology researchers increasingly adopt over legacy Java/MML platforms like JSim.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/NSR-Physiome/JSim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Physiome Sciences