Under the leadership of founding director Avner Friedman, MBI opened in September 2002, holding its first workshop, hosting its first visiting researchers, and starting its first cohort of postdocs in that month.

Emphasis Semesters are organized around selected themes which have included Mathematical Neuroscience, Cancer and Its Environment, and Analysis of Complex Data in Biological Systems.

[4][5] MBI postdoctoral fellows engage in an integrated program of tutorials, working seminars, workshops, and interactions with their mathematical and bioscience mentors.

MBI works with partner institutions to facilitate an eight-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), supported by the National Science Foundation.

Institute Partners receive direct benefits and opportunities enabling them to support, guide and participate in MBI research and education programs.