<p>For this Special Collection we invited experts in the area of mathematical and computational biology to share their views on the major problems in their areas of interest and their recent research results – focusing on the development of state-of-the-art modeling approaches and computational techniques applied to problems in the life sciences – and to present their vision of the new directions needed for addressing unsolved problems. Papers in this Special Collection address mathematical and computational problems in several areas of the life sciences, including theoretical neuroscience, cancer modeling, and cell and developmental systems. With respect to methodologies, these papers cover dynamical systems, differential equations, stochastic processes, and modern computational techniques, all with an emphasis on techniques in modern modeling and computational methodologies. This Special Collection is jointly hosted by the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology and the Journal of Mathematical Biology.</p>