The mission of the Institute for Digital Biology (IDB) is to improve the human condition by improving the security of health, food, fuel, the environment and the economy of the State of Mississippi and the nation.  The IDB is a unique multidisciplinary institute dedicated to excellence in research, education and service in the analysis of the function and expression of genes with an emphasis on economically important species.  We focus on collaborations across disciplines to increase our understanding of complex biological systems related to health, energy, the environment, and food and agriculture using a systems biology approach. The IDB provides undergraduate and graduate students with a unique opportunity to learn and conduct research in a cross-disciplinary environment addressing problems of critical importance. The Agbase database, generated and maintained by the IDB is a major worldwide repositories for functional genomics data for agricultural species, agricultural pathogens, and food-borne pathogens. Researchers from around the world submit their data to AgBase for curation and publication on the institute website. The IDB provides services to researchers across the state, nation and world in the use of the institute’s data resources and computational methods. The IDB facilitates economic development by building collaborative relationships with science- and technology-oriented government agencies.

Educational activities of the IDB include a Computational Biology Certificate program and the Digital Biology Learning Community. The Computational Biology Certificate is available for both graduate and undergraduate students.  Illustrative programs are provided for students from the life sciences and for those from the computational sciences and engineering.  The Digital Biology Learning Community meets twice per month to learn about activities at MSU and elsewhere that combine computing and biology.