The IPCAT conferences have been established since 1995 to foster a dialogue between scientists from a range of disci-

plines, i.e. biology, engineering, computer science, mathematics and physics, with emphasis on biological information processing and approaches to modelling. The 2009 IPCAT conference held in Ascona, Switzerland brought together about 100 modellers and experimentalists representing various fields and model systems, to help further explore the challenging interface between biological and mathematical sciences. The questions addressed covered several scales of biological organization, i.e. from molecular and cellular behavior to that of cell populations, organs and whole organisms in a wide range of systems. In the last decade, progress driven largely by technological developments has opened the possibility that mathematical modelling or theoretical approaches would play a key role in modern biological research. One central purpose of IPCAT 2009 was to promote new ideas around researchers who have started thinking along the lines of modelling, both through the development of experimental systems or theoretical frameworks, and thereby create new synergies.