EUROPEAN  TISSUE  REPAIR  SOCIETY

ETRS ANNUAL MEETING 2001
Cardiff International Area, Wales, 5-8 September 2001

For the purists in this society, it is well recognised that the real Millennium celebration should take place in the year 2001. In view of this, it is planned that the meeting to be held in Cardiff in September of that year will be particularly novel in an attempt to recognise our entry into the real new Millennium. 

The ETRS meeting programme will continue with the successful components of previous meetings including guest lectures, plenary sessions, free papers, posters and satellite symposia. Themes of the sessions included in the programme will concentrate, not only on what lessons we have learned in the past Millennium, but also on what opportunities exist for new discoveries in tissue repair in the next Millennium. 

The concerns expressed by our current President, Alexis Desmouliere, regarding commercial sponsorship of satellite symposia in a previous addition of this bulletin, will be addressed by the organising committee, carefully monitoring the topics and ensuring that undue influence is not exerted on the presentations to turn them into promotional events. The society has to recognise that a harmonious collaboration or symbiotic relationship with commercial concerns is necessary if we are to grow, the subject of tissue repair is to be adequately researched and patients are to get the best care possible.

In addition to existing successful components of our annual meeting, it is intended to introduce new aspects of the programme.  These will include more opportunities with interaction with key speakers, the raising of specific clinical challenges for scientific comment and the presentation of new laboratory data to determine its validity in clinical practice. 

Cardiff is the youngest Capital City in Europe. It is undergoing a huge facelift to remove the scars of its previous role in heavy industry. The rebuilding of Cardiff Bay, the creation of a barrage to produce a huge waterfront and the new hotels and leisure facilities, make it a City that we are proud of and a City that we are pleased to welcome friends and guests to. The meeting will not only have a high standard of academic activity, but also opportunities for delegates to participate in a wide range of social activities.

I look forward to welcoming you to Cardiff in September 2001.  I urge you to mark the date in your diary for, what I am confident will be, the highlight of the year in terms of academic and scientific debate on the subject of tissue repair.

Prof Keith Harding
ETRS 2001
Wound Healing Research Unit
UWCM, Cardiff Medicentre
Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ
Fax: +44 (0)29 2075 4217