Established in July 2012, the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science (IMES) is an inclusive community of students, administrative staff, research staff, and faculty who research, work, educate, and learn, at the convergence of engineering, science, and medicine to transform human health for all.
Since its inception, IMES has sought to accelerate innovation in human health – nucleating and nurturing strengths in technology and science, medicine and physiology, translational research, and entrepreneurship – by serving as: 1. an integrative force for human health research and education at MIT; 2. a portal for strategic partnerships with hospitals and industry; and, 3. a robust home for the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program, which has a rich history of educating and mentoring human health leaders.
As a community, we aim to be a paradigmatic example of how engineering, science, and medicine can come together collaboratively to support local and global communities, while upholding and embodying the following values:
- Integrity. We are committed to catalyzing transformative research paradigms and technologies, while holding ourselves to the highest standards of research integrity and respecting the ethical considerations that human-centric research demands.
- Diversity. We are deeply dedicated to creating and maintaining an equitable and supportive research, work, and educational environment where students, administrative staff, research staff, and faculty from all backgrounds are empowered, valued, and validated.
- Initiative. We are determined to never be satisfied with the status quo, boldly experiment with new modalities, and take the initiative to identify and dismantle structural obstacles.
- Openness. We believe transparently and broadly communicating our work is critical to actively enhance participation, inclusion, and benefit, particularly among historically underrepresented groups.
- Compassion. Above all, we care about the physical, mental, and intellectual wellbeing of our community and seek to make our members proud to be a part of IMES.