From September-December 2017, the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at Ohio State University hosted a series of workshops on control theory in biology and medicine, including workshops on control and modulation of neuronal and motor systems, control of cellular and molecular systems, control of disease / personalized medicine across heterogeneous populations, and sensorimotor control of animals and robots. This special issue presents tutorials and research articles by several of the participants in the MBI workshops. Control theory is a mathematically oriented discipline within engineering that concerns the design and analysis of 1 Contrary to popular belief, James Watt did not invent the Watt governor; the mechanism was in use for wind and water mills well before he adapted it to pressure regulation in steam engines in the late 1700s [37].