We are pleased to announce that the second five years of activity of the Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation (ROTRF) have started with the beginning of funding Cycle XI (submission deadline for the Letters of Intent was 1 October 2003).
The funding provided by the ROTRF has helped scientists working in the area of solid organ transplantation. The excellent work carried out by the researchers has been demonstrated by the high-quality papers published in peer-reviewed journals and the presentations of the scientists at international meetings.
In light of the success obtained until now, the ROTRF has decided to further promote clinical research in transplantation and is proud to announce the launch of a new initiative to fund more clinical research projects. This particular initiative aims at supporting research projects proposing work with human clinical material, organ transplant patients, human organ preservation, human transplant pathology and other human transplant problems, and which promise to have a significant impact in the clinical setting in the near future. Therefore, as of 1 October 2004, the ROTRF will award two types of grants, conventional research grants and clinical research grants.
In September 2004, the ROTRF will organise a series of State-of-the-Art Lectures during the International Congress of the Transplantation Society in Vienna. Five ROTRF grantees will be given the opportunity to present the results achieved during their ROTRF-funded research. The lectures will be chaired by Prof. Megan Sykes and Prof. Jean-Paul Soulillou, two members of the ROTRF Board of Trustees.
The ROTRF activities have benefited from the generous support of numerous people. We would like to thank F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd for its support to the Foundation. We would also like to thank all scientists and clinicians involved: the Board of Trustees; the Scientific Advisory Committee; and, most of all, the investigators.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees
Phil Halloran
