Internship Project
Biology

Computational Modeling of Drug Detoxification – A Systems Medicine Approach

Institution
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Factulty of Life Science, Institute for Biology
Subject Area
Systems Medicine of the Liver, Pharmacology, Digital Twins, Precision Medicine
Availability
05 May – 25 July
19 May – 08 August
02 June – 22 August
16 June – 05 September
 
Internship Modality:
On-site internship in Berlin

Applications for summer 2025 are closed.
This project is open to students from Brown University (Semester Internship Program in Berlin).
Project Supervisor(s)
Dr. Matthias König
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Language
English
Further Information
Project Type
Academic Research
Project Content
Our body's vital systems, particularly the liver and kidneys, play an essential role in the clearance of a vast range of drugs. The function of these organs can be evaluated by integrating pharmacokinetic data from test drugs with computational models that describe the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of substances within the human body. This project delves deeply into these processes, with a focus on pharmacokinetics—the study of how drugs move through the body. Interns will have the exciting opportunity to develop a physiologically based model of drug elimination using data from existing literature. This cutting-edge model will serve as a powerful tool for simulating drug pharmacokinetics in silico, enabling predictions about drug interactions, metabolic changes due to disease or aging, and much more.

Why join us?
  • Unique experience: Gain hands-on experience at the intersection of computational modeling and pharmaceutical science, shaping the future of drug development.
  • Real-world impact: Apply your model to answer pressing medical questions, such as predicting drug interactions or exploring variations in drug response across diverse populations.
  • Fully computational: This project is entirely digital, allowing you to immerse yourself in computational modeling without the need for wet lab work.
Tasks for Interns
  • Literature Research: Delve into the literature, extract and review pertinent information.
  • Data Management: Digitize and curate essential data sets to pave the way for computational modeling.
  • Model building: Design a state-of-the-art PBPK model of a test drug using ordinary differential equations.
  • Model Refinement: Fine-tune your model parameters through optimization.
  • Deep Dive Analysis: Perform in-depth model simulations to explore elements such as dose dependence and parameter sensitivity.
  • Medical Relevance: Use your model to provide insight into medical issues, from drug interactions to sex differences in drug metabolism.
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Requirements
  • Programming skills (Python)
  • Excel/LibreOffice
  • STEM background
Expected Preparation
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Please contact the program office (internship.program@hu-berlin.de) with all general questions and inquiries regarding the application, preparation, and program features.
If you have specific questions about the project, you can reach out to Dr. Matthias König (koenigmx@hu-berlin.de).