Prof. Dr. A. Schavan, MdB Federal Minister of Education and Research

The great medical-technical success of organ transplants and the specific replacement of cell, tissue and organ functions are already helping many patients with serious illnesses to survive today. Intensive work is being conducted to develop new and expand existing replacement methods. The long-term objective of Regenerative Medicine is to shed light on cell, tissue and organ functions and regeneration processes and to develop therapeutic procedures on this basis.

It is the task of an effective research policy to provide structures and formats for bringing the best scientists in different specialist fields together in order to develop joint research strategies. The Federal Government's Internationalization Strategy is supporting intensive cooperation between German researchers and top-class Californian institutions in the field of Regenerative Medicine. The Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a facility of the federal state of California, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research agreed to cooperate closely in the field of Regenerative Medicine in autumn 2009.

In recent years, Germany has produced a number of scientific and economic successes in the field of Regenerative Medicine and has positioned itself at the top internationally. Interdisciplinary networks of leading international scientists have contributed to this success. Strengthening international cooperation between industry and science has become a valuable tradition, which is being continued with the BioSTAR 2010 Congress in Stuttgart. The aim of what is now the fourth BioSTAR Congress is: To bring scientists from different disciplines together with colleagues working in the practical field in order to improve the treatment of patients and at the same time make this treatment more cost-efficient.

I would like to thank the organizers and wish all the participants lots of interesting discussions and important stimulus for their further work.

Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, MdB
Federal Minister of Education and Research