Founded in 2017, the Initiative in Theory and Modeling of Living Systems at Emory College of Arts and Sciences of Emory University fosters interactions among researchers who are building theoretical frameworks for understanding living systems, connects this community with experimentalist, including in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory, and trains the next generation of researchers in the field. The Initiative established Emory as a national leader in theoretical and modeling approaches to living systems, with more than a dozen faculty working in the field in various academic departments, including Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, etc. TMLS leadership has propelled Emory into a top-10 position in Physics of Living Systems PhD programs ranking according to USNWR. TMLS typically hosts half a dozen postdoctoral fellows, including through endowed fellowships, and over a dozen prior fellows have gone on to successful faculty careers at top national and international universities.