Our knowledge on the role of metals and metal complexes in biological systems, ranging from viruses to humans, is expanding at a rapid pace. This Gordon Research Conference on the Cell Biology of Metals will serve as a focal point to bring together a diverse cadre of researchers from different fields to foster the transmission of new information and ideas, and to facilitate the genesis of new collaborations that propel the field forward. Central disciplines will include genetics, cell biology, physiology, and medicine, as well as the chemistry and biochemistry of metal homeostasis by a range of organisms. Session topics that will be covered encompass the mechanisms for metal absorption, distribution, utilization, sensing and regulation at the cellular and organismal level, metal co-factor assembly, metals and pathogens, the structural biology of metalloproteins, metals in growth, development and disease, manipulation of metals in cells and other areas that will advance our understanding of the biology of metals as they relate to model systems, agriculture and human disease.