Online tutorial
Mathematical modelling for biologists
Modelling concepts in biological research
Time to complete:
3 hours
This course includes:
Written by:
Last reviewed:
August 2025
All materials are free cultural works licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, except where further licensing details are provided.
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Biological systems are dazzlingly complex — but mathematical modelling offers a powerful handle to explore and understand them. This tutorial empowers biologists to grasp the essential modelling concepts and engage with models that reveal the hidden logic of life, from molecules to ecosystems.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for biologists with little or no experience in mathematical modelling. If you are interested in learning how modelling can support your research, this tutorial will provide you with the essential foundation to get started.
Cover page image credit: Juanita Riveros, EMBL-EBI
What will I achieve?
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Describe how mathematical modelling is used in biological research
- Interpret research papers that incorporate mathematical models
- Discover how mathematical modelling can be applied to your own research and when it can be most useful
- Explore different types of models and identify when each one is best suited for use
- Describe simple biological systems using mathematical models
What resources do I need?
Some familiarity with the following mathematical concepts can be helpful—particularly if you plan to explore the linked resources and gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics behind the modelling approaches—but it is not essential for following this course:
- Basic Calculus
- Basic Graph Theory (we will introduce some of the concepts in the first chapter)
DOI:
10.6019/TOL.maths-biologists-t.2025.00001.1
Course contents
- What is a mathematical model?
- Introduction to networks and graphs
- How to get from biology to mathematics
- Introduction to three mathematical model formalisms
- Case study – Infectious diseases (SIR Models)
- Other modelling approaches
- Sustainable modelling and sharing
- Summary
- Check your learning
- Your feedback
- References
How and when to access the course
All our courses are designed with flexibility in mind. You can access them for free at any time, just click on the “Enter Course” button.
It is up to you how you use the course; you can either study the full course or you can focus on sections that are relevant to you. To jump between sections, use the navigation bar on the left or the arrows at the bottom of the page. You can also choose whether to complete the course in one go, or over several visits.
The average time to read through the main body of the course is 0.5 hours (not including exercises and external links). The time may vary depending on your prior knowledge and how you choose to work through the course.
Making the most of the course
Learning something new takes time and practice. We encourage you to:
- Use the activities and quizzes to help you check your learning, recall and apply key concepts. Look out for these icons:-
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Activities
Quizzes
Videos- Revisit sections as and when you need them. Bookmark relevant pages in your browser or use the navigation panel to jump the relevant section.
Getting help and providing feedback
If something isn’t working or if you have a question get in touch by contacting us at trainonline@ebi.ac.uk
Tell us what you thought about the course (both good and bad!) using the “Feedback and help” button found at the top of each page.
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Learn more
You can explore other training on offer from EMBL-EBI on our website. We offer online courses, webinars, face-to-face courses and offsite training.