BACKGROUND As immunology continues to become more quantitative, increasingly sophisticated computational tools are commonly used. One useful toolset are simulation models. Becoming familiar with such models and their uses generally requires writing computer code early in the learning process. This poses a barrier for individuals who do not have prior coding experience. RESULTS To help reduce this barrier, I wrote software that teaches the use of mechanistic simulation models to study infection and immune response dynamics, without the need to read or write computer code. The software, called Dynamical Systems Approach to Immune Response Modeling (DSAIRM), is implemented as a freely available package for the R programming language. The target audience are immunologists and other scientists with no or little coding experience. DSAIRM provides a hands-on introduction to simulation models, teaches the basics of those models and what they can be used for. Here, I describe the DSAIRM R package, explain the different ways the package can be used, and provide a few introductory examples. CONCLUSIONS Working through DSAIRM will equip individuals with the knowledge needed to critically assess studies using simulation models in the published literature and will help them understand when such a modeling approach might be suitable for their own research. DSAIRM also provides users a potential starting point towards development and use of simulation models in their own research.

中文翻译：

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免疫学家学习模拟建模的软件包。

背景随着免疫学继续变得更加定量，通常使用越来越复杂的计算工具。一种有用的工具集是仿真模型。熟悉这些模型及其使用通常需要在学习过程的早期编写计算机代码。这对之前没有编码经验的个人构成了障碍。结果 为了帮助减少这一障碍，我编写了软件，该软件教授如何使用机械模拟模型来研究感染和免疫反应动力学，而无需阅读或编写计算机代码。该软件称为免疫反应建模的动态系统方法 (DSAIRM)，是作为 R 编程语言的免费可用包实现的。目标受众是没有或几乎没有编码经验的免疫学家和其他科学家。DSAIRM 提供了对仿真模型的动手介绍，教授了这些模型的基础知识以及它们的用途。在这里，我描述了 DSAIRM R 包，解释了该包的不同使用方式，并提供了一些介绍性示例。结论 通过 DSAIRM 工作将使个人具备使用已发表文献中的模拟模型批判性评估研究所需的知识，并将帮助他们了解这种建模方法何时适合他们自己的研究。DSAIRM 还为用户在他们自己的研究中开发和使用仿真模型提供了一个潜在的起点。并提供一些介绍性示例。结论 通过 DSAIRM 工作将使个人具备使用已发表文献中的模拟模型批判性评估研究所需的知识，并将帮助他们了解这种建模方法何时适合他们自己的研究。DSAIRM 还为用户在他们自己的研究中开发和使用仿真模型提供了一个潜在的起点。并提供一些介绍性示例。结论 通过 DSAIRM 工作将使个人具备使用已发表文献中的模拟模型批判性评估研究所需的知识，并将帮助他们了解这种建模方法何时适合他们自己的研究。DSAIRM 还为用户在他们自己的研究中开发和使用仿真模型提供了一个潜在的起点。