2009 International Symposium on Metallomics

The 2009 International Symposium on Metallomics held in Cincinnati, USA, in June 2009 was a great success! Over 70 speakers presented high level scientific talks in the fields of Metallomics Technology, Human Metallomics, BioGeo Metallomics, Phyto Metallomics, Microbial Metallomics and Environmental Metallomics topics. Also over 30 excellent posters were given, allowing highly positive interactions between students, professors, corporate and government scientists from different fields. The location also played an important role in Cincinnati USA, where the Tri-State area of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana come together allowing a wide variety of choices for social programs rich with history, special tours, shopping and characteristic cuisine reflecting the cultural richness of the area.

iSM’09 mainly focused on the study of metals and metal species and their interactions, transformations, and functions in biological systems. Scientists from many countries across the range of metallomics research included biologists, chemists, physicians, environmental and clinical scientists from industry, government, academia, graduate students and postdoctorals. An important purpose of the symposium was to build and reinforce an international network and exchange of opinion about the progress and the state-of-the-art for metallomics studies.

The International Symposium on Metallomics 2009 followed the outstanding conference held in Nagoya, Japan in 2007 and although new on the scene in terms of important scientific venues, they already have demonstrated their promise as excellent sources for the metallomics research community, and meet the needs to constantly update our scientific capabilities with the latest techniques and progress in metallomics studies. Our goals of bringing together scientists from the biological, chemical, environmental, clinical and measurement sciences to effect a greater understanding of the role of metals and metal compounds in a wide variety of scientific areas was highly successful. iSM’11 promises to carry forward and enhance this newly established tradition and will be held in the beautiful city of Münster, Germany in June 2011.

This themed issue of Metallomics captures just a little of what you might have missed in Cincinnati. Please take a moment to peruse this selection of excellent articles representing the efforts of many scientists to present their metallomics research. And be sure to see all of the 2009 Metallomics articles available free at www.rsc.org/metallomics and submit your manuscripts for publication in 2010.

Joseph A. Caruso, Chair, Metallomics Editorial Board, with thanks to Karolin Kroening.

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