Dear Colleagues,

The 16th Annual Meeting of the European Tissue Repair Society in Pisa 2006 was a real success with more than 350 delegates from many countries and numerous industrial companies taking an active interest.

After the successful World Meeting in Paris 2004 organized by Prof. Luc Téot, and the Stuttgart Meeting in 2005, which was held as a combined meeting with the participation of the European Tissue Repair Society (ETRS), the German Society for Wound Healing (DGfW) and the European Wound Management Association (EWMA), we went back to our original format where the European Tissue Repair Society has its own meeting. This was held in the beautiful and famous city of Pisa and arranged under the auspices of Prof. Marco Romanelli. He and his team succeeded in excellently promoting the overall goal of the ETRS to translate clinical questions arising in the daily wound management to basic research laboratories and to come up with therapeutic modalities which overall benefit our patients.

He had also put together an impressive social programme with glimpses of the famous tower in the magic light of the Italian night in Pisa. Also the gala dinner at Santa Croce in Fossabanda Monastery was very impressive and like a fairy tale. Within the beautiful frame of this Monastery Prof. Romanelli arranged to give the prizes for the best three posters and the ten Young Investigator Awards, as well as for the Young Scientist who won the overall competition

Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower

of the ten in the presence of delegates of various Wound Healing Societies and participants. The board members of the ETRS feel that this is the right way to encourage our qualified youth and to really convince them that wound healing and related complex processes are worth dedicating their time and engagement to. The ten recipients of the Young Investigator Award have been given a oneyear’s membership of the European Tissue Repair Society as well as a free subscription to Wound Repair and Regeneration for one year.

This evening in the picturesque surrounding of Santa Croce in Fossabanda Monastery and the hospitality of our Congress President is truly appreciated. One of the highlights certainly was the Polonaise and the chasing of the monastery rabbit. On behalf of my fellow board members and members we would like to thank Professor Romanelli for his dedication and efforts in organizing this successful meeting.

The previous issue of the ETRS Bulletin introduced three of our four new board members, and we are all very much looking forward to working with them. The entry of new board members indicates the end of the term of three very successful board members. At the end of 2006 Dr Mieke Flour (our Treasurer), Prof. Esther Middelkoop (the past President) and Prof. Sabine Werner will finish their term and will leave the board. The European Tissue Repair Society would never have lived up to what it is without the tremendous impact, dedication and effort of these three highly respected personalities. Each of them has contributed tremendously to the success of the ETRS and each of them has not been afraid to give constructive criticism, if necessary. We all thank Dr Mieke Flour, Prof. Esther Middelkoop and Prof. Werner for their contribution to the society, and I would like to acknowledge that the success of our society was due to their contribution and the combined efforts of my fellow board members. Also, I would like to thank our business office which is run by Dr George Cherry, and his wife Christine Cherry who both have long-term insight in the society and in its needs.

It is a pleasure to announce our next annual meeting which will be held from 26–28 September 2007 in Southampton and will be planned and organized by the Congress President Prof. Raj Mani and his team. I hope that we will meet there again, and I would like to encourage all ETRS members to go to our annual meetings as science will only be promoted if one interacts with those individuals who are interested in similar or the same topics.

With my best regards,

Karin Scharffetter-Kochanek
President