From May 16-21, 2019, the MBL McDonnell Initiative hosted the 2019 MBL-ASU History of Biology Summer Seminar, an event boasting a rich, three-decade history of its own. This year’s seminar in Woods Hole convened scholars including graduate students, post-docs, research scholars, and faculty from around the world for intense discussions of the theme, “Uncovering the Logic of Regeneration across Complex Living Systems.” The speakers gave talks, and the group analyzed assigned readings, ranging from the history and philosophy of germ line regeneration, to the regeneration of lamprey spinal cords following injury, to considerations of whether ecosystems and microbial communities undergo regenerative processes akin to those observed in organisms. Alongside the annual seminar leaders Jane Maienschein (ASU), Karl Matlin (University of Chicago), John Beatty (University of British Columbia), and James Collins (ASU), McDonnell Program Administrator and Foundation Fellow, Kate MacCord (MBL), and 2018-2019 McDonnell Foundation Scholar, Kathryn Maxson Jones (Princeton University), organized the intellectual content. Funding was provided by the MBL McDonnell Initiative alongside the Center for Biology and Society at Arizona State University. Jessica Ranney, the Assistant Director of the Center for Biology and Society, provided exceptional support at all stages.