Translational biology is faced with cyberinfrastructure challenges related to data accessibility, software development, software reuse and sustainability on scales not seen before. We are challenged to creating new algorithm development and analysis tools that can operate on an increasingly large, diverse, complex and widely distributed body of digital biological data. The University of California San Diego has been awarded a grant for planning a conceptual design for an NSF S2I2 Institute for Translational Systems Biology (ITSB) that emphasizes biological 3-dimensional (3D) structures from molecule to cell and addresses the sustainability challenge. This virtual 3D cell provides the scientific framework to collect and disseminate software associated with all aspects of molecular and cellular biology in a way that can be understood by practicing scientists. The ITSB will become a hub through which diverse practitioners can contribute, gain knowledge and interact. To learn more and to register, please visit http://itsb.ucsd.edu/.