Services
Computational biology for difficult biological questions.
Noviota undertakes selected research and technical work at the intersection of biology and computation.
Our scientific interests centre on infectious disease and immunology across human and animal health, with particular interests in host–pathogen interactions, biological representation, computational modelling and the development of research software.
We are most useful where the difficulty lies not simply in analysing biological data, but in understanding how the biological system itself should be represented and investigated computationally.
Our services are deliberately focused. We prefer to begin with the biological or scientific question rather than a predetermined technical solution, and we accept projects where the work overlaps materially with our research programme.
What we do
Four focused areas of work.
Biological knowledge representation
Biological information rarely exists as a single, coherent dataset. Knowledge about a biological system may be distributed across experimental observations, scientific literature, databases, sequences, molecular structures and existing models. Relationships may depend upon organism, cellular state, experimental conditions or time, while apparently simple biological assertions may be supported by very different forms of evidence.
Noviota works on computational approaches for representing this complexity. Our work can include the representation of:
- biological entities and relationships;
- host–pathogen interactions;
- biological mechanisms;
- experimental and biological context;
- evidence and provenance;
- ontological relationships;
- heterogeneous biological knowledge.
Where appropriate, we design representations to remain interoperable with established biological standards and research infrastructure rather than creating unnecessary isolated formats.
Computational research prototypes
Some scientific questions are best investigated by building something. Noviota develops focused research software, computational prototypes and proof-of-concept systems where implementation provides a practical means of testing a scientific or technical hypothesis. This may include tools for biological representation, validation, modelling, knowledge interrogation or experimental computational methods.
The objective is not software development for its own sake. The software exists to investigate the research problem. Our own development of Sybil, an experimental domain-specific language for computational biology, follows this philosophy.
Infectious disease and computational biology
Infectious disease emerges from interactions between biological systems. A pathogen alone does not determine the outcome of infection. Host biology, immune state, pathogen variation, cellular environment and numerous contextual factors contribute to whether exposure results in colonisation, infection, disease or clearance.
Noviota undertakes selected computational and analytical work concerned with these systems. Our interests include:
- host–pathogen interactions;
- mechanisms of infection;
- innate and adaptive immunology;
- pathogen recognition and immune evasion;
- biological signalling;
- comparative and cross-species infectious disease;
- integration of heterogeneous biological evidence;
- computational approaches to mechanistic biological questions.
Our work can include exploratory research, structured literature and knowledge analysis, computational method development and early-stage investigation of biological hypotheses. Noviota does not provide clinical diagnosis, treatment recommendations or patient-specific medical advice.
Scientific software and research tooling
Scientific software is increasingly part of the infrastructure through which biological research is conducted. Noviota develops experimental tools and research infrastructure where existing software does not adequately support a biological or computational research question. This may include parsers, validation systems, biological knowledge tools, modelling utilities, research interfaces and other specialised software arising from our research.
We are particularly interested in software that makes biological assumptions, relationships and evidence more explicit and inspectable. This is distinct from general software development. Noviota is not an outsourced software agency.
A neighbouring field
What about biological design and SBOL3?
Formal representation of biological and therapeutic designs is an important neighbouring field, but it is not the principal focus of Noviota’s services. Work specifically concerned with structured biological design, SBOL3 implementation, nanomedicine design, reproducibility and translational representation is undertaken through Molecular Precision.
Noviota and Molecular Precision address related questions from different directions. Noviota is principally concerned with understanding and representing biological systems for computational research; Molecular Precision concentrates on the formal representation and translation of complex biological interventions.
How we work
Bringing computation and biology together.
We accept projects selectively. A project should overlap materially with Noviota’s scientific and technical capabilities and ideally contribute something intellectually useful to the wider research programme.
We are therefore unlikely to be the appropriate organisation for routine software development, generic AI implementation, conventional data analysis or general management consultancy.
Where there is a good fit, we prefer to begin with the biological or scientific question rather than a predetermined technical solution. You can read more about Noviota, explore the research programme, or read our Insights.
Have a problem that sits between biology and computation?
Discuss a project →Common questions
Services FAQ.
What does Noviota do?
Noviota is a biotechnology research company working in computational and programmable biology for infectious disease and immunology. Our work combines biological research with computational representation, modelling, scientific software and experimental approaches to biological reasoning.
Does Noviota provide computational biology services?
Yes, selectively. We undertake computational biology projects that overlap with our research interests, particularly infectious disease, immunology, host–pathogen interactions, biological knowledge representation and research software. We are not a general bioinformatics outsourcing provider.
Does Noviota work with both human and animal infectious disease?
Yes. Noviota's research extends across human and animal health. Many mechanisms of infection and immunology cross conventional disciplinary boundaries, although meaningful computational work must preserve species-specific biological differences and context.
Can Noviota develop scientific software?
Yes, where software development is integral to a biological or computational research question. We develop research prototypes, experimental tools and specialised scientific software rather than providing general commercial software development.
What is biological knowledge representation?
Biological knowledge representation concerns how biological entities, relationships, mechanisms, context and evidence are expressed in forms that computational systems can process. For Noviota, the important question is not simply whether biological information is machine-readable, but whether the representation preserves enough biological meaning to support useful modelling and reasoning.
Does Noviota work with artificial intelligence?
Potentially, where AI or machine-learning methods are appropriate to the scientific question. We do not treat AI as a service category in itself. The choice of computational method should follow from the biological problem rather than the other way around.
Does Noviota provide SBOL3 or nanomedicine design services?
Those areas are principally handled through Molecular Precision, which focuses on structured biological design, SBOL3, nanomedicine and translational representation. Noviota may interact with established biological standards as part of its research, but does not duplicate Molecular Precision's specialist design work.
What is Sybil?
Sybil is an experimental domain-specific language being developed by Noviota to investigate how biological systems and relationships can be represented in forms that remain readable and inspectable while becoming useful to computation. Sybil is a research project rather than a replacement for established biological standards.
How do I discuss a project with Noviota?
Use the contact form and select Services / research project. A useful initial enquiry should briefly describe the biological question, available information or data, and what you are trying to understand or investigate.