Educational Resources

• Undergraduate Studies
• Graduate Studies
• Sponsored Courses

IBEST supports the BCB graduate program which is offered on the Moscow campus of the University of Idaho, and is administered by the College of Graduate Studies. A degree in BCB requires coursework and practical experience in biology, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. The focus of the degree is on learning to develop and use computational and mathematical tools to analyze biological data.

The IBEST group also makes it possible for undergraduates to become involved with hands on research with state of the art labs

Research Areas

• Experimental Evolution
• Computational Biology
• Genetic Variation and Evolution

With the direction and support of prestigious researchers and world class facilities, IBEST facilitates hands on research education of students at the University of Idaho relevant areas.

Computational Facilities

IBEST has facilitated the installation of state of the art computational facilities which we provide to our researchers and students. Our computational facilities consist of 2 Intel based compute clusters totaling 236 CPUs, 1 PowerPC based cluster consisting of 96 CPUs and a new addition which will add a new 512 core cluster to our computational center.

To request an account please visit IBEST Online and fill out the form. For more information regarding the available software or tutorials on how to use the facilities, visit the IBEST Wiki.

Highlighted Research

Determining the frequency and genetic impact of hybridization during animal speciation remains a central and unresolved issue in evolutionary biology. If reproductive isolation is incomplete when nascent species come into contact, even moderate gene flow may result in population fusion. Thus, recurrent hybridization among animal species has traditionally been viewed as rare. Alternatively, genetic factors underlying speciation may continue to accumulate between divergent populations despite on-going gene flow, eventually leading to the evolution of complete reproductive isolation. Consistent with this second model (divergence with gene flow), several recent studies have shown that closely related taxa may retain differentiation despite high levels of cryptic hybridization and introgression. The radiation of western American chipmunks (Tamias, subgenus Neotamias) represents an excellent study system for diversification with gene flow. Thus, we are estimating the phylogeny of the genus using a diverse array of data sets, including mtDNA, ncDNA. You can read more here.