For this eighth funding cycle we are pleased to announce the distribution of a total of 2.1 million Swiss Francs (CHF) to 12 scientists from around the world, with the majority coming from the United States but also from the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy and Australia.

I would like to introduce two new members to the ROTRF Board of Trustees: Dr. Jim Woody from Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto, USA, and Prof. Jean-Paul Soulilou of Nantes, France, who already served on our Scientific Advisory Committee. At the same time I would like to thank Prof. Hans Wigzell of Stockholm, Sweden, and Dr. Robert Booth of Palo Alto, USA, for their work and commitment for the Board of Trustees. Prof. Wigzell and Dr. Booth were both on the board since the founding of the ROTRF and both left the board in 2002.

The Progress and Final Reports published in this Biannual Report demonstrate the high quality of work that has been carried out over the last few years with the support of the ROTRF. Many papers have been published in respected international journals and we are very hopeful that the number of papers being published will grow over the next few years. All this is thanks to the continued support of Roche, which has extended its commitment to the international transplant community with an additional CHF 15 million (as already publicised in our last Biannual Report).

The ROTRF continues to fulfil its mission to advance the science of solid organ transplantation. Much of the credit for the success goes to the scientists who send their projects to the ROTRF and to the excellent reviews of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), whose members will be introduced in this Biannual Report.

In summary, the Foundation represents a unique achievement: an internationally refereed competition in transplantation sciences founded by our benefactor but run by the scientific community. The mission of the ROTRF is the advancement of the science of organ transplantation and the needs of the people who require this service. We would like to express our gratitude to all those who have supported the ROTRF over the last four years, especially Roche for funding this charity, and the scientists who serve as trustees and advisors. Thanks as well to Dr. Sabine Stotz who provides an excellent service in operating our office.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Phil Halloran