## 10 A Call for Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Research: Metametallomics  
The potential of the field of metallomics will be recognized in other disciplines and the applied sciences only with increased awareness of the basic issues discussed here. Education, funding bodies, scientific societies and further health and environmental research could assist in this recognition as metal ions have effects over a wide range of concentrations relevant for nutrition, pharmacology and toxicology. A wider understanding of the role of the chemical elements in biology will make a huge impact on human health. Further insights will advance bioengineering in applications such as bioremediation to decrease metal ion concentrations in soils and water, biofortification of certain crops to increase their dietary value for micronutrients or employing the catalytic power and enantioselectivity of metalloenzymes for synthetic chemistry. A long-term change in education--how biochemistry is being taught--is needed. It requires further integration of biometals and other chemical elements of life into university curricula in different fields. Metallomics may serve as a platform for integration. Indeed, among the emergence of many omics disciplines, it was recognized that metallomics encapsulates a new focus, refers to a comprehensive collection and is easy to say and to understand [84]. Connecting metallomics to other \"omics\", bioinformatics and the role of metal ions to environmental sciences, such as biomarkers for exotoxicology/ecotoxicology, bioleaching and phytoremediation, generates promising synergism [37]. When including environmental and genetic factors to account for variability of the metallome, the field is referred to metametallomics [70]. However, the \"omics\" disciplines are mainly comprised of technologies and methods rather than fundamental principles. Additional approaches to teaching such principles are therefore needed. Scientific societies, conferences and journals often are too narrowly focused and need to adapt to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary facets of the roles of the chemical elements in biology. Funding bodies could facilitate the transition to a wider recognition of the scope and impact of the field in the basic and applied sciences. In the United Kingdom, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's NIBB (Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy) initiative with a program on \"The elements of bioremediation, biomanufacturing and bioenergy. Metals in Biology\" promotes collaboration between academia and industry and is a step in the right direction ([[https://mib-nibb.webspace.durham.ac.uk](https://mib-nibb.webspace.durham.ac.uk)]([https://mib-nibb.webspace.durham.ac.uk](https://mib-nibb.webspace.durham.ac.uk)); accessed on 11 November 2021). Research funding bodies should consider similar initiatives and stimuli for clinical, chemical and environmental research. As a metallomics community we need to actively collaborate and consolidate our expertise, both to improve the scientific literacy within the biomedical community about the essential role of inorganic elements and also to provide the tools and expertise to encourage wider engagement with this area. This is the approach that has been adopted within the London Metallomics Facility (LMF, [[https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/metallomics](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/metallomics)]([https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/metallomics](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/metallomics)); accessed on 11 November 2021), funded by the Wellcome Trust and King's College London [85], by providing a core facility for a wider research community as an exemplar for advancing the science of the bioelements. We believe it is essential not only to bring together a critical mass of active researchers in this area, but also to strongly advocate for the field, so that it is not just perceived as another untargeted omics-based platform, but an essential link between the organic and inorganic world.