PROJECT SUMMARY The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) series on the Cell Biology of Metals routinely brings together an exceptional community of new and established research scientists and physicians to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs in the field of metal homeostasis. As a cornerstone conference in this rapidly expanding field, the biennial Cell Biology of Metals GRC has had a loyal following since its inception in 2005, consistently attracting between 140 and 180 attendees. Due to the high demand to attend this conference, the accompanying GRS was initiated in 2017 to provide additional speaking and networking opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in this field. Gordon Research Conferences are internationally renowned for the high-quality, cutting edge nature of these meetings that showcase new unpublished work; the program of the proposed 2021 Cell Biology of Metals conference endeavors to maintain this high standard. The 9th iteration of this conference series will span a diverse range of scientific interests from genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and inorganic chemistry, to bioinformatics, microbial pathogenesis, and clinical medicine. Session topics will focus on the acquisition, trafficking, regulation, and dynamic utilization of metals in proteins, cells, tissues, and organisms from microbes to humans, and the role of metals in physiology, disease, and host-pathogen interactions. In addition, novel techniques and tools for monitoring, quantifying, and visualizing metals in cells and tissues will be shared and discussed. The conference format, including keynote presentations, research talks from junior and senior investigators, poster talks, poster sessions, and informal scientific discussions, promotes open communication, effective mentoring, and cross-discipline collaborations for new and established investigators and trainees that will sustain the healthy growth and diversification of this critical and rapidly expanding field. Since metal acquisition and homeostasis strongly impacts human health and disease as well as microbial pathogenesis, the ultimate goal of this conference series is to uncover the pathological mechanisms of dysfunctional metal metabolism in order to translate these findings into cutting-edge diagnostic approaches and therapeutic treatments for metal-related diseases and disorders.