We often wonder why normal animals do not predict humans perfectly. One reason may be that more and more of us have metabolic syndrome and its associated complications. Metabolic syndrome occurs with high frequency in the general population, and we need to understand more about these diseases, their underlying mechanisms, and how they impact drug safety. These topics will be discussed at the Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Diseases: From the Bench to the Clinic, a Society of Toxicology (SOT) 56th Annual Meeting Satellite, on Saturday, March 11, 2017, in Baltimore, Maryland. This conference is organized under the auspices of the SOT Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) Conferences Committee. The abstract deadline is March 1. Registration and abstract submission information can be found on the conference website