The ETRS Focus meeting on the Status of New Technologies in Tissue Repair which included evidence based medicine, growth factors, gene therapy, stem cells, tissue engineering, physical forces, tissue sealants, xenotransplantation and scar control met in Nice in September and proved stimulating, and generated much discussion. There were over 100 participants representing clinical practice, research and industry, mainly from Europe but also from other countries worldwide. As we have done in the past, the proceedings of this focus meeting will be published and made available free of charge to our members. The publication of this book will be funded by an educational grant from two of the sponsors of the meeting, KCI and Johnson & Johnson. In this issue the 'News from Industry…' section features an article from Johnson & Johnson, our new ETRS Bulletin sponsor. The publication on Wound Bed Preparation from the focus meeting held in Oxford in November 2000 has been distributed worldwide through its publicity on our website:

http://www.etrs.org

The proceedings of the latter meeting have proven to be extremely well received.

The news that our President, Mark Ferguson, was one of the recipients of the prestigious Körber European Science Prize for 2002 adds prestige to our society and we congratulate him and his colleagues for their work in the research field of scar control and scarless healing.

In January 2003 the ETRS Business Office in Oxford will have a formal administrative arrangement with the society which, in the past, has been done informally. A number of improvements will take place, making it easier for members to benefit from the society. These include making sure that paid members who are entitled to receive the official journal of the society Wound Repair and Regeneration do so without administrative delays.

We welcome comments and suggestions from our members with regard to improving our website and the ETRS Bulletin. Contentious ideas and dates of meetings from other wound healing and tissue repair societies are also most welcome. In addition, any other suggestions that members might have should be forwarded to the Business Office in order to help us maintain a high standard of service.

May we draw your attention to the dates of the Amsterdam 2003 annual ETRS meeting on 21-23 September. Details of this meeting can be found in this issue of the Bulletin. Please make a note of this meeting in your diaries.

George W. Cherry
Editor