Ongoing advances in data capture, storage, and analysis have the potential to exponentially accelerate life science research and revolutionize medical treatments and care. Standing between us and this bright future are a cluster of overlapping challenges in information technology (IT) modernization, organizational design and culture, and information security and patient privacy. Overcoming these challenges will improve American healthcare in a variety of ways, most of all by allowing the health sector as a whole to unlock the power of big data to transform and reform the healthcare experience and expedite advances in life science research, medical product development, and patient care.Â