International tissue and cell engineering conference

A launch satellite meeting for the UK-China Partnering In Bio-regenerative Engineering on 4 September will mark the beginning of the 2007 Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) EU-Chapter Conference, which runs from 4-7 September 2007.

The half-day launch meeting, held in Regent's College in Regent's Park, will be attended by diplomats and senior scientists from top Chinese universities across tissue engineering, biomaterials and bioprocessing.  It will consist of a series of short presentations, delivered by leading international tissue engineers.

UCL is hosting the main TERMIS conference with the UK Tissue and Cell Engineering Society. Professor Robert Brown (UCL Tissue Repair & Engineering Centre) will chair the event, and there is a strong UCL presence on the organising committee, scientific advisory board and as speakers. The meeting promises to be one of the largest gatherings of scientists involved in tissue engineering and stem cell science, featuring distinguished keynote speakers from all over the world.

UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, will open the conference and will be joined by a number of high profile figures during the packed programme.

A panel discussion on the 'Drivers & Inhibitors Of Stem Cell Research In The UK' will feature Baroness Warnock, an advocate of simplifying the law framework surrounding regenerative medicine, alongside BBC Radio 4's Geoff Watts, presenter of science and technology show 'Leading Edge' as well as experts on regulation and science.

With the first round of FP7 grants approaching, the conference will provide a timely and unique forum for developing networks and establishing partnerships and collaborations, including a speed-dating session and a presentation from Dr Ilse Vickers, UCL's Director, Research Europe, and Adviser on European Research Strategy.

In addition to the China-UK satellite forum on 4 September, there will be a UK-Netherlands (linked to China) networking reception on 5 September, due to be attended by the UK ambassador in the Netherlands and by the Dutch Science Attaché to the United Kingdom.

Professor Brown said: "A theme of innovation and excellence will be set by its venue at the heart of the European centre for biomedical research. The mix of cell and developmental biologists, materials scientists, engineers, nanotechnologists, computer modellers, imaging and monitoring biophysicists as well as clinical specialists from orthopaedics, cardiovascular, maxillofacial, ocular and plastic surgery will guarantee the conference is
multidisciplinary."

To attend the China-UK satellite meeting on the 4 September (free to UK scientists and medical doctors), please contact Sally Brown at termiseu@ucl.ac.uk.

To download a ChinaUK satellite meeting programme, or to register for the full TERMIS conference, use the links at the top of the article.