Systems biology is an approach in biomedical research to understanding the larger picture—be it at the level of the organism, tissue, or cell—by putting its pieces together. It’s in stark contrast to decades of reductionist biology, which involves taking the pieces apart. Yet with its complicated flow charts that can (in the words of T.S. Eliot) “follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent,” systems biology has scared away more than a few researchers. Still others fail to fully appreciate its usefulness because it lacks a concise, unified definition. Because systems biology requires constant attention to a very complex, very human social experiment, ISB fosters the kind of financial, social and psychological environment in which the world’s best scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians can collaborate and do their best work.