We are approaching our joint meeting with the Wound Healing Society in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and look forward to a good representation by ETRS Members.
As Keith Harding our President stated in his letter the ETRS board met in Amsterdam to discuss strategic issues for the future of the society and I am sure this will lead to the continued success of our society.

In this issue two tissue repair centres are being featured Ð the Blond McIndoe Centre in East Grinstead, England headed by Dr Robin Martin who has been an active member of ETRS for many years and the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Medical School headed by Professor Pat Mertz and Professor Bill Eaglestein, both of whom have attended ETRS meetings. Each of these centres have made major contributions to the field of tissue repair.

The Australian Wound Management Association (AWMA) is now celebrating its tenth anniversary. Like the ETRS its official joint journal is Wound Repair and Regeneration. However, they publish an excellent journal, Primary Intention, which covers all aspects of wound healing. Many of the officers, and the current president Jenny Prentice, and past officers Michael Stacey, Donald MacLellon and Geoff Sussman have participated in our ETRS meetings over the years. Michael and Geoff and other members of AWMA were the organisers of the First World Wound Meeting of Wound Healing Societies in Melbourne in 2000 - the second meeting will take place in Paris in July 2004. I am sure that Luc Teot, the local organiser for this meeting will emulate and build on the success of the first meeting in Melbourne.

In this issue we feature an article on Human Genome Sciences, a sponsor of the ETRS Bulletin, in our 'news from industry' section. They are actively involved in clinical wound healing with their new growth factor KGF-2 (Reper-fermin).We look forward to their participation in this year's Focus meeting in Nice ÔThe status of new technologies in tissue repair; growth factors, gene therapy, stem cells, tissue engineering, physical forces, xenotransplantation and scar control in 2002' in the Growth Factor session in September.

Burn and plastic surgery doctors and nurses at Cho-Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, attending an
interactive lecture on wound healing. Copes of Dr Paul van Zuijlen's thesis 'Perspectives on burn scar
evaluation and artifical skin' and an ultrasound vascular Doppler were presentated to the group.

In this issue there is also an excellent article by Professor Peter Molan of Waikato University, New Zealand on honey in the treatment of wounds. He has done extensive research on the mechanism of how honey enhances wound healing and its bactericidal effect. He also stresses that not all generic honeys are the same in producing this positive effect on healing.

Last but not least, I was fortunate to receive a copy of the thesis 'Perspectives on burn scar evaluation and artificial skin' by Dr Paul van Zuijlen of the Dutch Burns Foundation, Amsterdam. I would strongly recommend that members of the ETRS obtain copies of this, particularly since it has been published in a soft-back pocket-book format. Unlike many theses, which often get buried in university libraries, this has been published through educational grants for distribution. Dr van Zuijlen was kind enough to supply me with several copies to give to Burn Doctors and Plastic Surgeons on a recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where the treatment of burns, particularly scars, is a major problem in this developing country. The photograph overleaf shows the interactive lecture on wound healing where Dr van Zuijlen's thesis was discussed, as well as other aspects of wound healing pertinent to developing countries.

Dr George W. Cherry
Editor