The history of the Medical University of Bialystok is a continuation of the 18th century tradition of practising medicine and public health care in Bialystok. At that time, a palace midwifery school was functioning in Bialystok, and it was later transformed into an Institute of Obstetrics (one of only a few in the entire country) - established by Dr. Jakub Michelis in the 19th century.Within the Institute, there was a clinic functioning as a health center and a teaching facility.

The university was officially founded in 1950 as the tenth Doctors Academy in Poland and it was soon renamed Medical Academy. Branicki Palace became the main seat of the newly established institution. The first Rector of the Medical Academy of Bialystok, Tadeusz Kielanowski, was a member of the Lviv community. Many among the academic teachers were pre-war professors and graduates of universities in Vilnius, Cracow, Poznan, Warsaw and Lublin.

168 students began their studies at the Faculty of Medicine. The majority of theoretical departments were located in the a building adjacent to the palace, now Collegium Primum, formerly Teachers Training College. The buildings that were granted to the university were destroyed in 1944 and their reconstruction began after the war. When the Medical Academy was founded, even the professors and students helped rebuild and renovate the damaged buildings. Hospitals that were at that time in operation in Bialystok and which survived the war became the clinical base of the new university.

In 1951, the university obtained the right to confer the Doctor of Medical Sciences degree. In 1955, first students graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and were awarded the titles of Medical Doctor. In the same year, the first issue of a scientific journal Roczniki Akademii Medycznej w Białymstoku was published and it continues to be published under a changed title Advances in Medical Sciences.

The first ten years of the Medical Academy ended with a considerable success, as in 1960, for the first time, three graduates of the Faculty of Medicine were awarded a scientific degree of the Doctor of Medical Sciences. A year later, the first procedures of granting postdoctoral degrees were completed. In 1962, the State Teaching Hospital of the Medical Academy of Bialystok was opened.     Initially, the Medical Academy offered only one faculty of study - the Faculty of Medicine. In 1969, the university's academic scope expanded by creation of the Division of Dentistry. Eight years later the second faculty was established, namely the Faculty of Pharmacy with the Division of Medical Analytics (currently the Faculty of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine).

In 1987, the first child conceived through in-vitro fertilization in Poland was born in the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In the following year, the Children’s Clinical Hospital began admitting patients. The first kidney transplant in Bialystok was performed in 1989.

In 1999, the Collegium Novum was opened and a Division of Nursing was created at the Faculty of Medicine. In 2003, this division was transformed into the Faculty of Nursing and Health Care (currently the Faculty of Health Sciences).

Many new departments, clinics and laboratories were created in the following years.

At the beginning of the academic year 2011-2012, two new buildings for academic and research purposes were opened: The Euroregional Pharmacy Center, and the center of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The year 2008 was a milestone year for the university, as the act of renaming the Medical Academy of Bialystok to the Medical University of Bialystok became effective on March 22nd. The new status of a University is a response to the challenges of the modern times and it accurately reflects the nature of education and the level of conducted research.

Nowadays, the Medical University of Bialystok belongs to the most dynamic medical universities in Central and Eastern Europe and, for many years, it has been adopting an innovative scientific policy.

University is a precursor and leader in the conduction of innovative large-scale research, including in particular innovative techniques related to the development of artificial intelligence in medicine, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, radiomics, bioinformatics. It was here that the first, in this part of Europe, Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine was founded, based on the generation of high-quality comprehensive data sets from patients with civilization diseases. MUB is a leader in high-quality biobanking of biological material from patients with civilization diseases. What is more, the Medical University runs a unique in this part of Europe population survey covering ten thousand residents of Białystok (Białystok Plus Study). Working in cooperation with the National Center for Research and Development, the Medical University of Bialystok carries out unique research programs in the field of personalized medicine and civilization diseases. One of them is a project to create a reference biobanking model and a service supporting the diagnosis and treatment of early stages of non-small cell lung carcinoma (MOBIT). As a result of the project implementation, a unique database containing the results of the whole genome analysis of several hundred patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma was created. Another project involves the development of an innovative VAMP (Voice Analysis for Medical Professionals) computer diagnostic system, which can improve the early detection of civilization diseases, mental disorders and neurodegenerative changes. Thanks to its use, medical diagnostics can be initiated not only during a doctor's visit, but also during a telephone conversation. The university places importance on teamwork conducted by outstanding scholars in the most innovative research areas with the participation of a foreign partner - as demonstrated by the project, obtained from the Foundation for Polish Science under the TEAM programme, aimed at clarifying the role of intramuscular lipid accumulation in the induction of muscular insulin resistance. The research will allow to determine the influence of individual lipid groups on the activity of the insulin pathway. Thanks to them, it will be possible to discover the critical nodes of the insulin pathway, the action of which is reduced by the accumulation of intramuscular lipids. Project results will provide knowledge for the definition of new objectives in the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

The university has a modern scientific and didactic base, well-equipped infrastructure and laboratories, including: Experimental Medicine Centre (with GLP certificates), Euroregional Centre of Pharmacy, Clinical Research Centre, Innovative Research Centre, Centre for Bioinformatics and Data Analysis, modern clinical hospital base, Biobank, Centre for Artificial Intelligence, MUB Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Technology Development.

The University's highly-qualified academic staff (800 academic teachers, including 120 professors and 150 habilitated doctors) benefit from widely available development programs that enable study visits and training at the best research centres in the world. The university maintains intensive cooperation with international research centres, implements joint scientific projects, hosts eminent professors and researchers from around the world, including centres such as Mayo Clinic, National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Harvard Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, China Agricultural University. About 25% of the publications created at MUB is the result of active international cooperation with foreign partners from leading research centres.

Researchers at the Medical University of Bialystok are actively patenting and commercializing their scientific discoveries, and the University is open to cooperation with various business entities. Some of the latest MUB patents include: Medical Honey - a product based on propolis extract that delays the development of glioma; bee strengthening preparation produced by LOB under license from MUB; artificial saliva; research on the extract from a fungus from the Bialowieza Forest, which, in the future, can help in the fight against colorectal cancer.

In 2012-2017, the University received the KNOW certificate and was recognized by the Minister of Science and Higher Education as the Leading National Research Center.

An important success achieved by the MUB is the establishment of International Interdisciplinary PhD Studies in the field of Biomedical Research and Biostatistics. Financing was granted by the European Commission within the framework of the prestigious European COFUND scheme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon 2020 Framework Program. The project was also co-financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. MUB is the only Polish university which received funding in the COFUND scheme as part of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

In November 2018, The Minister of Science and Higher Education classified the Medical University of Bialystok as one of the top 20, among nearly 400, universities in the country. It received financial support for the "Strategy of Excellence of the Medical University of Bialystok – the University of the Future" project as a preparatory activity to obtain the prestigious status of "University of Research".

The University publishes two magazines, one included on the Philadelphia List - Advances in Medical Sciences (IF 2,064) and - Progress in Health Sciences.

There are currently 5,200 students studying in 15 fields of study, including almost 400 studying in English. They come from 30 countries, including Norway, Sweden, the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain and Saudi Arabia. The educational offer of the University is constantly adapted to the needs of the labor market. The high level of teaching at MUB is proven by the top positions obtained by our graduates in the Medical Final Examination and Medical-Dental Final Examination.
Dynamic internationalization is one of the University's priorities. Since 2018, the Internationalization Strategy has been implemented, the Rector’s Representative for International Cooperation and the International Cooperation Office have been appointed. UMB obtained funds from the National Agency for Academic Exchange for the implementation of four projects aimed at the development of internationalization. The university obtained funds for applying for foreign accreditations.