EBRAINS at VPH 2026: From computational modelling to Virtual Human Twins

Networking during the Virtual physiological human conference (VPH) on 1-4 September, Milan

EBRAINS participated in VPH 2026 in Milan, from 1–4 September 2026, represented by Giacomo Preti from Aix-Marseille University (AMU). The event brought together researchers, clinicians, engineers and industry representatives working on Virtual Physiological Human approaches and computational modelling in healthcare.

The conference covered a remarkably broad range of applications, from multiscale modelling and systems biology to Digital Twins, neurovascular modelling, pharmacology, in silico clinical trials and computational toxicology.

A key focus was the transition of computational models beyond methodological development towards real-world clinical and regulatory applications.

Discussions on Virtual Human Twins, Model-Informed Drug Development, in silico trials and New Approach Methodologies highlighted both the potential of computational approaches to improve personalised and predictive healthcare, and the challenges related to validation, data quality, generalisability, regulatory acceptance and integration into clinical practice that still need to be addressed.

The conference also provided a great opportunity to explore how different modelling approaches can be connected across scales, from molecular and cellular mechanisms to organs, whole-body physiology and patient populations.

For EBRAINS, VPH 2026 provided a valuable opportunity to follow developments across the wider Virtual Human Twin and computational modelling communities and exchange perspectives on their future role in healthcare. This is particularly relevant in the context of the Virtual Brain Twin (VBT) project, coordinated by EBRAINS, which is developing personalised multiscale virtual brain models to advance research and support future clinical applications and treatment of psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on schizophrenia.

The VBT ecosystem is being integrated into the EBRAINS Research Infrastructure.

Read more about the VPH event.
Explore the latest news about the Virtual Brain Twin project