Dear Colleagues

It was a great pleasure to welcome you to the
8th International Symposium on Advances in Legal Medicine (ISALM) held in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, from 26 to 30 September 2011.

Three years had passed since the last ISALM which had been organized in Osaka by the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine in close cooperation with the German Society of Legal Medicine. This year, we had the great honour to welcome the friends and colleagues of our Japanese Sister Society. Internationally renowned speakers and many forensic scientists from all over the world joined our symposium in Frankfurt to exchange their research results and experiences.

The world becomes smaller and international cooperation, common projects and personal contacts are vital in academic life and research. Based on the numerous abstracts submitted by colleagues from all continents, we composed a scientific program that included all aspects of forensic medicine, toxicology, anthropology and genetics.

Our Japanese colleagues had to face an extraordinary challenge with respect to the examination of postmortem remains and the identification of bodies from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011. We are deeply grateful for their willingness to come to Frankfurt and to share their experiences in coping with the aftermath of this natural disaster with us.

The 8th ISALM-conference also provided the opportunity to hold a Young Investigators Forum as a platform for novel approaches of young Japanese colleagues. A meeting of the German-Japanese Association of Lawyers (DJJV) dealing with legal aspects of forensic science was also organized. The 90th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Legal Medicine has been held in the course of ISALM.

Participants of the ISALM 2011 joined a memorable conference dinner at the Main-Arcaden.

My coworkers and I will keep fond memories of the event and we hope that anyone spent an unforgettable time in Frankfurt!

Sincerely yours

Hansjürgen Bratzke
Conference President ISALM 2011