Objective: Whole-cell (WC) modeling is a promising tool for biological research, bioengineering, and medicine. However, substantial work remains to create accurate comprehensive models of complex cells.
Methods: We organized the 2015 Whole-Cell Modeling Summer School to teach WC modeling and evaluate the need for new WC modeling standards and software by recoding a recently published WC model in the Systems Biology Markup Language.
Results: Our analysis revealed several challenges to representing WC models using the current standards.
Conclusion: We, therefore, propose several new WC modeling standards, software, and databases.
Significance: We anticipate that these new standards and software will enable more comprehensive models.