The Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation (IMCI) is a multidisciplinary, collaborative research program housed at the University of Idaho and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We strive to create an intellectual, cultural, and physical environment that fosters synergy for biomedical research. We see ourselves as the epicenter of all research involving modeling at the university.

The focal point of IMCI is the Collaboratorium, a space and a culture for collaborative modeling.  It brings together faculty and students from both the empirical and modeling realms with postdoctoral scientists who reside in the Collaboratorium and devote full-time effort to collaborative modeling.  The central idea of the Collaboratorium is that when a group of bright, skilled people share ideas about each other’s work, it will generate better, more innovative research.

The physical Collaboratorium is located in the Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) on the Moscow campus and is furnished with AV equipment to facilitate remote meetings. More than a dozen Working Groups representing 16 departments and 8 colleges meet regularly to brainstorm ideas, discuss research and share understanding.

Our Goal

To foster the convergence in interdisciplinary biomedical research, we have three Specific Aims:

  1. Conduct model-based, interdisciplinary research that leads faculty to transition to independence.
  2. Establish a collaborative and synergistic Modeling Core to impel interdisciplinary research and to build institutional research capacity.
  3. Increase the participation in biomedical research at the University of Idaho.

The University of Idaho

The University of Idaho (UI) has a rich research environment that is well suited for interdisciplinary studies in biomedical research. It is a high research activity, land-grant institution committed to undergraduate and graduate education, including the medical and veterinary education programs for the state of Idaho. UI has the infrastructure in place to support successful faculty research and promotes a supportive and collaborative research environment through workshops, socials, and seed grant opportunities.