Creating a virtual human with artificial intelligence – this ambitious goal is pursued by Prof. Dr. Fabian Theis together with a team of more than 600 scientists at Helmholtz Munich. Through digital models of human cells, organs, and biological processes, diseases could be better understood, therapies personalized, and new drugs developed more quickly in the future.

As head of the Computational Health Center at Helmholtz Munich, Theis works at the intersection of AI, biology, and medicine. A central component is participation in the international Human Cell Atlas project, which maps all cell types of the human body. The research team has already created a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the human lung and uses AI to simulate the behavior of cells in digital models.

AI for the medicine of the future

The goal is not only to describe biological processes but also to predict them. Using data-driven models, researchers can virtually test hypotheses and directly feed insights from experiments back into AI systems. This creates a continuous learning process between simulation and biological research.

In addition to his scientific work, Theis is involved as chairman of the Bavarian AI Council and supports the BAIOSPHERE initiative, which aims to network the Bavarian AI ecosystem and bring together research, talent, startups, and investments in the field of artificial intelligence.

The research highlights the enormous potential of AI for health sciences. By combining biological data, modern AI methods, and supercomputers, digital models could emerge in the future that fundamentally change medical research and care.