JUMMP: JUst a Model Management Platform

Common announcement of EBI and DKFZ

To provide the worldwide community with a modern tool for the collaborative creation and sharing of models in an efficient and secured way, the Jürgen Eils and Nicolas Le Novère groups are announcing the JUMMP project. The plan for this collaborative project has been initially presented during the first COMBINE meeting, in Edinburgh in October 2010.

It is planned that JUMMP will be used as the software infrastructure running BioModels Database, a resource for storing, searching and retrieving published mathematical models of biological interests. BioModels Database is being developed by the BioModels.net team led by Nicolas Le Novère, in collaboration with Michael Hucka in Caltech. Its main instance is deployed at the EBI.

BioModels Database is a well-established resource in systems biology. Although sufficient for the needs of the data resource in the pioneering years, the software underlying BioModels Database suffers substantial limitations, making difficult for instance to re-use or extend it. Furthermore, evolutions in the field of quantitative modelling of biological processes require more comprehensive support for various types of models, and capabilities to access and use them. Finally, strong needs were expressed for a more secured platform for collaborative model development.

The implementation of JUMMP is planned as a multi-step process. For several months, the groups currently participating, at the EBI and the DKFZ have been paving the way by defining requirements and use-cases. This documentation as well as possible software strategies are publicly available for community development, as will be all source-code of the software on the project website.

We intend that a working prototype will be available as soon as possible, with functionalities added as the project unfolds. A tentative roadmap is available and will be refined.

We are open for further contribution from -and collaboration with- the global community interested in model development and sharing. Interested parties can join the mailing-lists.