Computational Life & Health

Institute of Computer Science - Department VIII

The "Computational Life and Health" department brings together interdisciplinary research groups working at the intersection of computer science, life sciences, and medicine. The department’s central goal is to improve our understanding of biological systems – particularly under conditions of health and disease – through data-driven and computational approaches. Areas of expertise include artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, digital medicine, and personalized health technologies. Research activities span from molecular crop genome analysis and the modeling of neurodegenerative diseases to the use of mobile technologies for patient-centered care.

The department consists of five closely collaborating research groups, each led by a professor. These groups maintain strong partnerships with the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it), and the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Bonn. Together, they develop new diagnostic tools, digital therapies, knowledge-based models, and applications for precision medicine.

Research Highlights

What is the space of human actions?

The iBehave Network aims to deepen our understanding of behavior and its neural basis. It investigates how different living beings adapt their movements based on sensory inputs and internal states. One focus is on analyzing neurological and psychiatric diseases such as Parkinson's and depression in order to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Through an interdisciplinary approach with nine projects, the network promotes collaboration between scientists and clinicians to find new solutions for behavioral disorders.

Data Science & KI

At the Institut für digitale Medizin, scientists are researching data science & AI, in particular with regard to

Detection of anomalies in biosignals (ECG)
Representational Learning
Focus on data from mobile devices
Representational Federated Learning

Protein Function Prediction

Many previously unknown proteins are often discovered in genome projects. In order to describe these better, the AHRD (Automatic assignment of Human Readable Descriptions) tool uses information from similar proteins - in particular their descriptions and GO terms (Gene Ontology). The aim is to provide a precise, readable description and a suitable functional annotation for each new protein. As this information often gives the first impression of a protein, it is particularly important that it is easy to understand and informative.

Humanoide Fußball-Roboter mit WM-Titel

Roboter, die sich schnell und robust auf zwei Beinen fortbewegen können, sind in der Zukunft für zahlreiche Anwendungen in Alltagsumgebungen wichtig, z. B. für die Auslieferung von Post oder für die Unterstützung assistenzbedürftiger Personen. Humanoide Fußball-Roboter vereinbaren ebendiesen Fähigkeiten in sich.

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NimbRo: Avatar-Roboter

Robotische Avatarsysteme geben Menschen visuelle, auditive und taktile Informationen und ermöglichen so, Aufgaben in Echtzeit über große Entfernungen hinweg zu erledigen. Die Avatar-Technologie gilt als Schlüssel dazu, dass Menschen ihre Fähigkeiten an weit entfernten Orten in verschiedenen schwierigen oder kritischen Situationen einsetzen können, z. B. bei der Pflege oder Katastrophenhilfe sowie bei Wartungs- und Reparaturarbeiten.

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Working Groups

Department VIII “Computational Life & Health” consists of five working groups headed by Prof. Dr. Dr. Dominik Bach, Prof. Dr. Martin Hofmann-Apitius, Prof. Dr. Stephan Jonas, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Björn Krüger and Prof. Dr. Heiko Schoof.

Led by Prof. Dr. Dr. Dominik Bach, teh Hertz Chair for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience (CAIAN) investigates the neural basis of decision-making and threat processing using artificial intelligence. The goal is to understand how the human brain detects real threats—and why some individuals avoid harmless situations. The team uses methods like virtual reality and associative learning. It is closely affiliated TRA Life and Health as well as the University Hospital Bonn.

The Bioinformatics Group headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Hofmann-Apitius deals with the acquisition and modeling of biomedical information, in particular on neurodegenerative diseases. Computer-aided models for precision medicine are developed based on large amounts of text and patient data. The group is affiliated with b-it and the Fraunhofer SCAI and collaborates with international research institutions and companies.

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stephan Jonas, the Institut für Digitale Medizin develops digital health solutions with a focus on patient-generated data. The focus is on mobile devices for early diagnosis and decision support. The institute is located directly at the University Hospital Bonn.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Björn Krüger heads the Personalized Digital Health and Telemedicine working group, which focuses on sensor-based technologies, motion analysis and wearable devices for personalized healthcare. The aim is to use machine learning for individualized diagnostics and therapy. The research is carried out in close cooperation with the University Hospital Bonn.

The Crop Bioinformatics working group headed by Prof. Dr. Heiko Schoof develops bioinformatic tools for the analysis of genomic data from crop plants. The focus is on gene function prediction and the investigation of evolutionary adaptation processes. The working group is embedded in the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences and works together with experimental groups.