Our History
The European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) was founded in March 1976, and became a member of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering (IUS-BSE) at its conception, in 1979.
The ESB today has approximately 1,000 from over 30 countries worldwide
History of the European Society for Biomaterials, published in celebration of its 25th anniversary (PDF)
ESB Officers (history of ESB Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers)
Year |
President |
Vice-President |
Secretary |
Treasurer |
1976 |
G.D. Winter |
J.L. Leray |
S. Sandolini-Cortesi |
A. Pizzoferrato |
1976-1977 |
G.D. Winter |
J.L. Leray |
F. Burny |
G. Heimke |
1977-1978 |
G.D. Winter |
J.L. Leray |
F. Burny |
G. Heimke |
1978-1979 |
G.D. Winter |
J.L. Leray |
F. Burny |
G. Heimke |
1979-1980 |
G.D. Winter |
J.L. Leray |
F. Burny |
G. Heimke |
1980-1981 |
J.L. Leray |
P.van Mullem |
P. Ducheyne |
G. Heimke |
1981-1982 |
G. Heimke |
A.J.C. Lee |
P. Ducheyne |
P.van Mullem |
1982-1983 |
G. Heimke |
A.J.C. Lee |
P. Ducheyne |
P.van Mullem |
1983-1984 |
A.J.C. Lee |
B. Rahn |
P. Christel |
P.van Mullem |
1984-1985 |
A.J.C. Lee |
B. Rahn |
P. Christel |
P.van Mullem |
1985-1986 |
A.J.C. Lee |
B. Rahn |
P. Christel |
P.van Mullem |
1986-1987 |
A.J.C. Lee |
B. Rahn |
P. Christel |
P.van Mullem |
1987-1988 |
P. Christel |
B. Rahn |
U. Gross |
P.van Mullem |
1988-1989 |
P. Christel |
B. Rahn |
U. Gross |
P.van Mullem |
1989-1990 |
P. Christel |
B. Rahn |
U. Gross |
G.de Lange |
1990-1991 |
P. Christel |
B. Rahn |
U. Gross |
G.de Lange |
1991-1992 |
U. Gross |
M. Jozefowicz |
S. Downes |
C. van Blitterswijk |
1992-1993 |
U. Gross |
M. Jozefowicz |
S. Downes |
C. van Blitterswijk |
1993-1994 |
P. Tranquilli-Leali |
U. Soltész |
S. Downes |
C. van Blitterswijk |
1994-1995 |
P. Tranquilli-Leali |
U. Soltész |
S. Downes |
C. van Blitterswijk |
1995-1996 |
P. Tranquilli-Leali |
U. Soltész |
P. Thomsen |
Ch. Baquey |
1996-1997 |
P. Tranquilli-Leali |
U. Soltész |
P. Thomsen |
Ch. Baquey |
1997-1998 |
P. Revell |
H. Koerten |
P. Thomsen |
Ch. Baquey |
1998-1999 |
P. Revell |
H. Koerten |
P. Thomsen |
Ch. Baquey |
1999-2000 |
P. Revell |
H. Koerten |
P. Thomsen |
L. Ambrosio |
2000-2001 |
P. Revell |
Ch. Baquey |
P. Thomsen |
L. Ambrosio |
2001-2002 |
C.J. Kirkpatrick |
Ch. Baquey |
J.D. de Bruijn |
L. Ambrosio |
2002-2003 |
C.J. Kirkpatrick |
Ch. Baquey |
J.D. de Bruijn |
L. Ambrosio |
2003-2004 |
C.J. Kirkpatrick |
Ch. Baquey |
J.D. de Bruijn |
L. Ambrosio |
2004-2005 |
C.J. Kirkpatrick |
J.A. Planell |
J.D. de Bruijn |
L. Ambrosio |
2005-2006 |
L. Ambrosio |
J.A. Planell |
K.E. Tanner |
A. Merolli |
2006-2007 |
L. Ambrosio |
J.A. Planell |
K.E. Tanner |
A. Merolli |
2007-2008 |
L. Ambrosio |
J.A. Planell |
K.E. Tanner |
A. Merolli |
2008-2009 |
L. Ambrosio |
J.A. Planell |
K.E. Tanner |
P. Granja |
2009-2010 |
L. Ambrosio |
E. Schacht |
L. Di Silvio |
P. Granja |
2010-2011 |
L. Ambrosio |
E. Schacht |
L. Di Silvio |
P. Granja |
2011-2012 |
L. Ambrosio |
M. Doser |
L. Di Silvio |
P. Granja |
2012-2013 |
L. Ambrosio |
M. Doser |
L. Di Silvio |
P. Granja |
2013-2014 |
M. Santin |
M. Doser |
M. Bohner |
P. Dubruel |
2014-2015 |
M. Santin |
M. Doser |
M. Bohner |
P. Dubruel |
2015-2016 |
M. Santin |
J. Amédée |
M. Bohner |
P. Dubruel |
2016-2017 |
M. Santin |
J. Amédée |
M. Bohner |
P. Dubruel |
2017-2018 |
P. Habibovic |
J. Amédée |
A.P. Pêgo |
M. Bohner |
2018-2019 |
P. Habibovic |
J. Amédée |
A.P. Pêgo |
M. Bohner |
2019-2020 |
P. Habibovic |
Aldo Boccacini |
A.P. Pêgo |
M. Bohner |
ESB Honorary Members
Within parenthesis: nomination year
Adam Curtis, UK (2006; †)
Alain Leray, France
Arthur J. Coury, USA
Berton Rahn, Switzerland (2003; †)
Charles Baquey, France (2006)
David Williams, UK (2008)
Etienne Schacht, Belgium (2013; †)
Günther Heimke, Germany (1989; †)
Hanns Plenk, Austria (2006; †)
Heinrich Plank, Germany (2013)
J Lawrence Katz, USA (†)
J. Upton, UK (1981)
Jacqueline Jozefowicz, France (2003)
James Kirkpatrick, Germany (2016)
Jan Feijen, The Netherlands (2018)
Josep A. Planell, Spain (2018)
Klaas de Groot, The Netherlands (2006)
Luigi Ambrosio, Italy (2018)
Luigi Nicolais, Italy (2010)
Marcel Jozefowicz, France (2003)
Marcus Textor, Switzerland (2010)
Michel Doser, Germany (2018)
Nesrin Hasirci, Turkey (2018)
Paolo Giusti, Italy (2007; † 2016)
Peter J. van Mullem, The Netherlands (1989)
Peter Revell, UK (2006)
Sergio Sandrolini Cortesi, Italy (1982)
Ulrich Gross, Germany (2003)
Uta Faure, Belgium (< 2001)
Uwe Soltész, Germany (2007)
Vasif Hasirci, Turkey (2018)
William Bonfield, UK (2006)
Yannis Missirlis, Greece (2014)
Council Details

Ana Paula Pêgo
President
Ana Paula PEGO
INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica
i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208
4200-135 Porto,
Portugal
Tel: +351 226 074 900
Email:president@esbiomaterials.eu

Aldo R. Boccaccini
Vice President and YSF Liaison Officer
Aldo R. BOCCACCINI
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Institute of Biomaterials
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Cauerstr. 6
91058 Erlangen
GERMANY
Tel:+ 49 9131 8528601
Email: aldo.boccaccini@ww.uni-erlangen.de

Nicholas Dunne
Secretary
Nicholas DUNNE
Dublin City University
MEDeng Centre for Medical Engineering Research
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Glasnevin Campus
Dublin 9
IRELAND
Tel (mobile): +44 7514324361
Email: nicholas.dunne@dcu.ie

Silvia Farè
Treasurer
Silvia FARE
Politecnico di Milano
Dept. Chemistry,
Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”
ITALY
Tel: +39 02 2399 3389
Email: silvia.fare@polimi.it

Sandra Van Vlierberghe
Communication Officer and Liaison Officer with Conference Organizers
Sandra VAN VLIERBERGHE
Ghent University
Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Polymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group
Krijgslaan 281, S4-Bis
9000 Ghent
Belgium
Email: sandra.vanvlierberghe@ugent.be

Matteo D’Este
Industry Liaison Officer
Matteo D’ESTE
CAO Research Institute Davos (ARI)
Clavadelerstrasse 8
7270 Davos
Switzerland
Email: matteo.deste@aofoundation.org

Karine Anselme
Education Officer
Karine ANSELME
Institut de Science des Materiaux de Mulhouse (IS2M)
CNRS – University of Haute-Alsace UMR 7361
15 rue Jean Starcky,
68057 Mulhouse
France
Email: karine.anselme@uha.fr

Cristina Barrias
Journal Liaison Officer
Cristina BARRIAS
i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208 4200-135 Porto,
Portugal
Tel: +351 226 074 900
Email: ccbarrias@i3s.up.pt

Maria Grazia Raucci
Liaison Officer National Affiliated Societies
Maria Grazia RAUCCI
IPCB-CNR Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials
National Research Council
Viale J.F. Kennedy 54, Mostra d’Oltremare pad.20
80125 Naples
Italy
Tel: +390812425945
Email: mariagrazia.raucci@cnr.it
The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering (IUS-BSE)
List of ESB ex-officio members (from Sept 7, 2015)

Pamela Habibovic
Immediate Past President
Pamela Habibovic
Maastricht University
MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine
Department of Instructive Biomaterials Engineering
PO Box 616
6200 MD Maastricht
THE NETHERLANDS
Email: president@esbiomaterials.eu
Athéna
Administrative office
Athéna
2 rue Henri Bergson (entrée 2 rue Thomas Mann) Strasbourg 67200 FRANCE Tel: +33 388279950 Email: contact@centre-affaires-athena.fr http://www.centre-affaires-athena.fr/
Sécal
Invoicing
Sécal
10, avenue Molière 67200 STRASBOURG FRANCE Tel: +33 388279999 Email: Matthieu.RIMLINGER@secal.fr http://www.secal.fr/
Liaison
World Biomaterials Societies
The European Society for Biomaterials became a member of The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering (IUS-BSE) at its conception in 1979.
The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE) is a body that brings together national and multi-national groups dedicated to the advancement of biomaterials, surgical implants, prosthetics, artificial organs, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
The other member societies of IUS-BSE, are:
- Australasian Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (ASBTE)
- Canadian Biomaterials Society (CBS)
- Chinese Society for Biomaterials (CSB)
- Chinese Taipei Society for Biomaterials and Controlled Release
- Japanese Society for Biomaterials (JSB)
- Korean Society for Biomaterials (KSB)
- Latin American Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs (SLABO)
- Society for Biomaterials USA (SFB)
- Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs - India
Affiliated Societies
National biomaterial societies are officially affiliated to the European Society, namely:
- BIOMAT (French Society for Biomaterials)
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Society (Turkey)
- German Society for Biomaterials
- Hellenic Society for Biomaterials
- Iberian Society for Biomaterials & Biomechanics
- Italian Society for Biomaterials
- Netherlands Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (NBTE)
- Polish Society for Biomaterials
- Romanian Society for Biomaterials
- Scandinavian Society for Biomaterials
- UK Society for Biomaterials
- Swiss Society for Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine
Benefits to national societies:
- The ESB website has links to the websites of all the affiliated national societies.
- ESB affiliated societies have priority over other non-affiliated national societies in the organisation of the ESB conferences.
- ESB affiliated national societies have access to a booth at the ESB Conference to improve their communication with their members and others.
- ESB affiliated national societies get the endorsement of ESB for their activities, which may help with acquiring funding and sponsorship for their meetings.
Sister Societies
The ESB integrates scientific knowledge by coordinated relations with other European Societies, namely:
- European Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society (TERMIS-EU)
- The European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO)
- European Society of Biomechanics (ESB)
- European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS)
Members of these societies may be eligible for discounted ESB conference rates. This is at the discretion of local ESB conference organizing committee or following specific agreements (e.g., joint scientific sessions) between the ESB and sister societies.
In addition the ESB has relations with:
- European Federation of National Association of Orthopaedics & Traumatology (EFORT)
- European Federation on Regenerative Medicine (EFRG)
Elections
The voting for the five seats that will become available in the council starting from September 2021 will take place between March 3 and 31, 2021.
This year candidates are:
- Cristina Barrias
- Håvard Haugen
- João Mano
- Julien Gautrot
- Maria Grazia Raucci
- Matteo D'Este
- Matthew Baker
- Miguel Castilho
- Miguel Oliveira
- Sandra Van Vlierberghe
- Silvia Farè
You can have access to their CV and letter of application in the link above.
To vote please log in to your account and click on Election & vote tab. You can select up to 5 candidates. If you have any question please contact us via secretary@esbiomaterials.eu.
Subscription & Membership
ESB Membership Subscription Guidelines
(or "How to become a member")Ordinary, Junior and Retired Membership
Becoming a member by attending an ESB Conference
Since 2018, ESB membership becomes a benefit for any officially registered person attending the corresponding ESB annual conference. Just by registering for that Conference, your membership is automatically granted for the next period from the day that you register, as described in the ESB bylaws. Please, be aware that the membership holds for the years that no ESB conference is organized because a World Biomaterials Congress is taking place. In this particular case, your membership spans for a two-year period between the two ESB conferences with a World Congress in between without the need to be renewed yearly.
Becoming a member by registering in our Web page
If you were unable to attend a given ESB conference and still wish to be an ESB member, you can register any time through our web page. Your membership will be valid from the day your proof-of-payment is received for the rest of the current period. In the case the following year no ESB conference is organized because a World Biomaterials Congress is taking place, your membership spans until the end of that two-year period.
Corporate Membership
Any commercial institution or organization whose activities are in the field of biomaterials can apply for Corporate Membership. Any commercial institution or organization accepted as a corporate member must nominate a representative
Using our website to become a member? please register as it follows:
1. You can become an individual member by choosing among the different options for individual subscriptions the one that matches you.
2. In all cases, upon completion of the registration, you will have the option to pay online through PayPal gateway that gives you the option to pay either by direct/credit card or by PayPal payments. The system also allows you payment by bank transfer. In the latter case, the system will automatically release an invoice for you to pay.
3. Once proof of payment has been received by the society, your registration will be approved and your account activated. Please be aware that payment made by bank transfer will experience longer waiting times for approval as they will be manually verified and approved.
Please note that bank transfer registrations expire after 30 days if payment is not received. If you cancel a Paypal payment, it will automatically expire after 15 minutes, from then you will be able to retry your payment or choose another means of payment.
4. You will be then able to access your account and create your profile.
Membership fees
(updated on the 30/10/2017)Ordinary Membership
50€/year
- Single person
- Entitled to vote
- Entitled for election for Council
- Reduced fee for many IUS-BSE meetings
Junior Membership
20€/year
- Graduate student
- Reduced fee for many IUS-BSE meetings
- Entitled to vote
Corporate Membership
300€/year
- Organization nominates a representative
- Representative entitled to vote
- Representative entitled for election for Council
- Reduced fee for many IUS-BSE meetings
- Access to member-only area of ESB website
Honorary Membership
Free
- Single person
- Nominated and elected at general Assembly
- Entitled to vote
- Entitled for election for Council
- Reduced fee for many IUS-BSE meetings
Retired Membership
Free
- Single person
- Entitled to vote
- Entitled for election for Council
- Reduced fee for many IUS-BSE meetings
Would you like to join ESB?
You are just 2 minutes away from becoming an ESB member!
Register
Membership benefits
Check subscription guidelines (on the left) to know how to enrol.
The European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) is a leading scientific association, which aims to encourage research and information dissemination in the field of Biomaterials.
ESB members gain the following benefits:
Networking Facilities at the password-protected, member-only, area of ESB's website, to allow ESB members to find other members and share information through the Members Directory.
Worldwide networking since the ESB is a founding member of The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering (IUS-BSE), which brings together the major international biomaterials societies and organizes the World Biomaterials Congress once every four years.
Reduced Rates at many IUS-BSE conferences such as the Society for Biomaterials (USA) Annual Conference and the World Biomaterials Congress.
Professional recognition through the prestigious ESB Awards and FBSE status recognition (through IUS-BSE).
Membership of the ESB is open to any person irrespective of nationality, who has an interest in biomaterials and is accepted for membership by the council.
To all subscribers, Please note that :
A support email (support@pixens.fr) is available to you all for technical matters. You can find the link at the bottom of the ESB homepage.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any issue related to the website functionalities. For other matters, please contact either the Secretary (Secretary@esbiomaterials.eu) or the Treasurer (Treasurer@esbiomaterials.eu) of our society
Dates & deadlines
ESB Awards Dates & Deadlines
Date | Subject | Who |
Jan 31 | Deadline for “Racquel Z. LeGeros Award” applications | PhD students who are members of ESB |
Deadline for “Julia Polak European Doctoral Award” applications | ESB members | |
Mar 31* | Application deadline for best oral and poster presentation (upon abstract submission) | PhD students intending to attend ESB congress |
Application deadline for the ESB translational research award (upon abstract submission) | Post-doctoral researchers intending to attend ESB congress | |
May 31* | Application deadline for Rudolf Cimdins scholarship (“travel award”) | Students from academic or research centers of poorly funded countries with a Human Development Index (HDI) <0.850. |
Nov 30 | Deadline for Jean Leray, George Winter, Klaas de Groot and International Award | ESB members |
*This date is suggested by the council, but might vary according to the preferences of the local ESB congress organizers
ESB Dates & Deadlines for ESB members
Date | Subject | Who |
Oct 31 | Resignation deadline for members | ESB Members |
Jan 31 | Bidding deadline for the organization of the annual ESB Congress (Jan 31) | ESB affiliated societies and ESB members |
Feb 28 | Deadline for ESB Council Nominations | ESB members |
March 31 | Deadline for online membership fee payment | ESB members |
April 30 | Deadline for ESB Council Election | ESB members |
Aug 15 | Deadline to request a change of the GA agenda by ESB members | ESB members |
GA = General Assembly
ESB Congress Dates & Deadlines (suggested by the council)
Date | Subject | Who |
Dec 1* | Opening of the abstract submission process | ESB congress organizers |
Feb 28* | Start of online registration for ESB congress | ESB congress organizers |
March 31* | Abstract submission deadline for ESB conference | ESB congress participants |
Jan 31* | Application deadline for best oral and poster presentation (upon abstract submission) | PhD students intending to attend ESB congress |
Jan31* | Application deadline for the ESB translational research award (upon abstract submission) | Post-doctoral researchers intending to attend ESB congress |
April 10* | Start of abstract reviewing process | ESB congress organizers |
May 10* | End of abstract reviewing process | Members of the scientific committee of ESB congress |
May 20* | Deadline for abstract notification | ESB congress organizers |
May 31* | Invitations sent for the RSC Biomaterials Science special issue | ESB congress organizers |
May 31* | End of early registration fee for ESB congress | ESB congress organizers |
May 31* | Application deadline for Rudolf Cimdins scholarship (“travel award”) | Students from third world countries with an accepted abstract at ESB annual congress |
June 30* | Deadline for last-minute poster submission | ESB congress participants |
June 30* | Submission deadline for the articles of the RSC Biomaterials Science special issue | Authors of manuscripts for the RSC Biomaterials Science special issue |
July 31* | Deadline for ESB congress fee payment | ESB congress participants |
July 15* | Notification to authors for last-minute poster abstracts | ESB congress organizers |
Aug 15* | Publication of the final program of the ESB congress | ESB congress organizers |
*This date is suggested by the council, but might vary according to the preferences of the local ESB congress organizers
Past General Assemblies
1975 - Decision to start ESB
Meeting Instituto Ortopedica Rizzoli 1975.pdf
1976 - Founding of the Society
Draft Statutes of ESB 1976.pdf
Inaugural Meeting 1976 12th-13th March.pdf
1977
1978
1977-1979/Invitation to the 1978 GA.pdf
1980
1981
Announcement of the 1981 ESB congress.pdf
1982
1983
ESB Conference Topics 1983 31 August - 2 September.pdf
1985
General Meeting Presidents Report 1985 5th September.pdf
Treasurers report Period July 23 1985 - July 26 1987.pdf
1986
1987
1989
General Assembly Agenda 1989 8th September.pdf
General Assembly Minutes 1989 8th September.pdf
1991
1993
1995
1997
1998
1999
2001
Anniversary Conference 2001 12th - 14th September.pdf
2002
2003
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
2013
2014
ESB General Assembly Presentation 2014.pdf
Minutes of the 2014 ESB GA.pdf
2015
2017
2018
Invitation to the 2018 General Assembly
Presentation of the 2018 General Assembly
2019
Invitation to the 2019 General Assembly
Presentation of the 2019 General Assembly
2021
Invitation to the 2021 General Assembly
Presentation of the 2021 General Assembly