The 2012 Gordon Conference on Metals in Medicine will present cutting-edge research on complexes of various metal ion complexes as drugs, as enzyme inhibitors and as imaging probes. The Conference will feature a wide range of topics including advances in platinum and other metal complexes as anti-cancer drugs, iron biochemistry, copper and zinc in physiology and disease, radionuclides in imaging and therapy, metalloproteins as medicinal targets, and metal ions in imaging from cells to animals to humans. The Conference will bring together a collection of investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promote cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.