The Initiative for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies (IBEST) is an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Idaho. IBEST blends expertise from biologists, biochemists, mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists to examine the underpinnings of evolutionary biomedicine and to develop the analytical tools needed to do so.

Evolutionary Biomedicine
IBEST seeks to gain a greater understanding of the patterns and processes of evolution and their relevance to biomedicine. IBEST accomplishes this goal by rigorously testing and analyzing natural, experimental, and simulated populations. IBEST brings together molecular biology, population genetics, computer simulations, and mathematical and statistical analysis for this task.

Analytical Tools
The modern understanding and exploration of evolution is only possible thanks to the rapidly growing field of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics develops and uses computer resources to store, analyze, and visualize complex biological data sets that are too vast for human comprehension. Bioinformatics is at the empirical core of genetic research and biological modeling.