Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation

Advancing model-based research & Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration

The Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation (IMCI) at the University of Idaho advances model-based research and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. It serves as a hub where faculty, postdocs, staff and students from a broad range of disciplines work together to solve complex-systems problems. IMCI’s Modeling Core supports research across the university by generating new approaches and seeding interdisciplinary teams and its mission emphasizes creating a cultural and physical environment that bridges disciplines and encourages grassroots collaboration. Through pilot grants, modeling access and collaborative structures, IMCI enables early-career investigators and multi-disciplinary teams to pursue novel research directions and build institutional capacity.

Get involved!

Grant Support

Community / Grassrooting
Bring Your Own Cup (BYOC)
Brown Bag Lunch (BBL)
Writing Working Group (Writing WG)

Collaboration
IDAC
The Modeling Core

News and Events

Brown Bag Lunch: The Story Model

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This is an announcement of our upcoming Brown Bag Lunch happening Monday, March 9, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Collaboratorium (IRIC 352). “What is the connection between modeling and storytelling? Are stories models? What story models can we use to make our science writing better?” Find out in ‘The Story Model’ when Erin James shares her work on story—or narrative—as a primary mode of human modeling. In this BBL, Erin will break down what stories are, how they play a role in human cognition, and how thinking of stories as models suggests new approaches to science writing. Come for the talk and leave with some tips and…
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IMCI News: Admin Retreat is a Success!

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Written by Austin Eldridge – February 23rd, 2026Images by Travis Warner IMCI is excited to share the success of this year’s Admin Team Retreat! Over the weekend of February 6, 2026, the team gathered in rainy Spokane to discuss several high‑level objectives related to the future of our institute’s operations and our aims for the near future. We kicked off the retreat on Friday evening, when guests and the admin team came together over dinner for a stimulating discussion on modeling, AI ethics, and our own take on the “commandments of modeling.” After a night’s rest at the Spokane Club,…
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News: Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision

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Patel Lab Study Reveals a New Pathway in Vertebrate Vision What do deep‑sea fish see that we don’t? What deep‑sea fish eyes see has long fascinated scientists. Their larvae, developing in pitch‑black waters, offer a rare window into observable evolutionary processes—helping us understand not only how they see, but how vision evolved in all vertebrates, including us. A new study led by Assistant Professor Jagdish Patel and former U of I postdoc Jonathan Barnes is making waves in the field, proposing an alternative developmental pathway for vertebrate vision. This work challenges long‑held assumptions about how eyes develop and how light‑sensing…
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Post-Brown Bag Lunch: Johan Paulsson: Single-cell and evolutionary approaches to basic microbial physiology and diagnostics

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Our special guest, Johan Paulsson of Harvard Medical school put on quite the show with his exciting talk: Single-cell and evolutionary approaches to basic microbial physiology and diagnostics. Despite having such incredible technology paired with brilliant minds, we as a community continue to face challenges navigating a difficult social landscape. A Zoom recording to the talk will be available on this page soon. Please check back later!
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IHHE IMCI Synergistic Grant Support

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Animal, plant, human health, and complex ecosystem researchers! Are you planning on a grant submission to a federal agency in the next 4-6 months from mechanism to modeling? Do you need feedback on your premise and overarching hypothesis or text? Would you like assistance with paperwork, planning a budget, and or meeting deadlines for your unit, OSP, and the target agency? The Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem (IHHE) and the Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation (IMCI) are here to help! These institutes are partnering together to provide synergistic support for PIs who want to would like assistance with the demanding task of grant submission. With…
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