The inorganic chemistry of transition metals and the unique role they play in biology and medicine are presented. Course material first provides an overview of inorganic coordination chemistry, including topics of structure and bonding, spectroscopic methods, kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Building from this basis, topics of current research interest are explored, including oxygen transport and activation, coenzyme B12-dependent reactions, electron-transfer proteins, metal-mediated gene expression, and the chemotherapeutic and diagnostic uses of metal complexes. The instructor sets a reading list and problem set for each meeting to be drawn from advanced monographs, review articles and current research journals. One student is expected to prepare and deliver an oral presentation of the material, while the other student questions the speaker and details solutions to the problem set. Additional material-provided and discussed in class-serves as the basis for further elaboration of each topic. Format: tutorial. Evaluation is based on the quality of presentations, class participation, problem sets, and a term paper on a current topic in bioinorganic research. Prerequisites: Chemistry 202 and Biology 101.