VERIFICATION AND TESTING OF BIOLOGICAL MODELS

Simulation modeling in systems biology embarks on discrete event simulation only for cases of small cardinalities of entities and uses continuous simulation otherwise. Modern modeling environments like Bio-PEPA support both types of simulation within a single modeling formalism. Developing models for complex dynamic phenomena is not trivial in practice and requires careful verification and testing. In this paper, we describe relevant steps in the verification and testing of a TNFα-mediated NF-κB signal transduction pathway model and discuss to what extent automated techniques help a practitioner to derive a suitable model.