III International Congress on Biomaterials

March 25^th, 2003

Dear Colleagues:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the III International Congress on Biomaterials Biomat'03 here in Havana. This Congress is held a little time before of the tenth anniversary of being created the Centre of Biomaterials at the University of Havana in 1994. During these years we have tried to do the best effort and we are now reaching a relative wisdom which is a starting point for continuing our work.

We hope that you enjoy the scientific content of the programme, which is presented here. Biomat'03 will comprise 13 plenary lectures, 56 oral presentations and 79 posters from 15 countries of America and Europe. We will focus our discussions on many important subjects such as tissue engineering, bioceramics, biopolymers, composites, characterization methods, pre-clinical evaluations and clinical applications of biomaterials in orthopaedics, dentistry and others. During the Congress there will be also meetings of international organizations such as SLABO and CYTED network ¨Biomaterials for Health¨.

Furthermore, we would like to be excused for presenting a rather tight programme that will not allow you to have much time for relaxing and enjoying the tourist attractions of Havana. Finally, we want to invite you to participate in the Post Congress Course on Metallic Biomaterials and we wish you a very successful Biomat'03 Congress on behalf of the Organizing Committee