The ROTRF is pleased not only to announce the grants awarded in its third and most recent funding cycle, but also to present the first progress reports of the first funding cycle.

The ROTRF was launched by the Roche Group in 1998 as an independent foundation, with the mission to support research projects aiming to advance the science of solid organ transplantation. Therefore, we, the ROTRF’s Board of Trustees and the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), emphasize the need for innovation and novelty, and for thinking "outside the box." In keeping with this principle, the research proposals submitted to the ROTRF undergo thorough reviews by the SAC and are rated according to relevance to solid organ transplantation, originality and scientific excellence. The ROTRF strives to foster and nurture scientific creativity, the very essence of progress. Therefore, we strongly encourage researchers with innovative scientific ideas and approaches – also outside of the direct transplantation area – to apply themselves to transplant-related problems.

It is important to note that, although the supported projects represent early stages of the process by which discovery influences therapy, they represent important first steps in new areas that will lead to new understanding, new clinical applications, and improved outcomes. They might represent new leaps forward or may fuel other ideas or findings. Every step and promising hypothesis has to be tried and tested even if it eventually proves to be incorrect. It is usually a long way from the concept to the clinical application, even when the original hypothesis has been correct. We are convinced that the research projects funded by the ROTRF will contribute to gaining greater knowledge of the clinical and scientific adventure of transplantation, e.g. the mechanisms of rejection and tolerance, the mechanisms of long-term organ deterioration, the consequences of tissue injury, and the opportunities to intervene in these processes.

The Foundation is a great and unique achievement, and all involved can be proud of it. All those who have been involved in supporting the ROTRF to accomplish its mission deserve the Foundation’s gratitude.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Phil Halloran