The 2012 Gordon Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology (CMFB) will present the latest, cutting-edge research on the exciting and growing field of molecular and cellular aspects of fungal biology. Topics will range from yeast to filamentous fungi, from model systems to economically important organisms, and from saprophytes and commensals to pathogens of plants and animals. The CMFB conference will feature a wide range of topics including systems biology, cell biology and morphogenesis, organismal interactions, genome organisation and regulation, pathogenesis, energy metabolism, biomass production and population genomics. Invited speakers represent scientific disciplines ranging from molecular genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry to population and evolutionary biology. This conference brings together leading academic, government and industrial scientists with a wide range of expertise to present and discuss current, unpublished research. It also fosters opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work and to exchange ideas with others in the field. Some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. The collegial atmosphere of this small-sized conference, with programmed discussion sessions and informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides participants from different disciplines the opportunity to discuss their work in a very broad context and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the research areas represented.