Preface

Dear Participants:

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 15th International Congress of Biorheology and the 8th International Conference of Clinical Hemorheology being held at Korea University, Seoul, Korea, on May 24–28, 2015. This is the seventh joint meeting of the International Society of Biorheology (ISB) and the International Society of Clinical Hemorheology (ISCH). The tradition of cooperation between the two societies was first established in Big Sky, USA (1995) and continued in Pécs, Hungary (1999), Antalya, Turkey (2002), Chongqing, China (2005), State College, USA (2008) and Istanbul, Turkey (2012).

The scientific program of this joint meeting in Seoul consists of seven plenary lectures, twenty-six themed symposia, seven sessions for oral presentations and a poster discussion session. All sessions will be presented by outstanding researchers with a variety of topics in both the fields of biorheology and clinical hemorheology. This seventh joint meeting will keep the tradition that all posters will be displayed during the meeting with a special evening event devoted to their discussion. In addition, technical exhibits will be presented.

Seoul is the capital and largest city of South Korea, with a population of over 10 million, and is part of the third largest metropolitan area in the world with over 25 million residents. Seoul is an ancient city that was founded over 2,000 years ago and has developed into a world leading hub for technology, finance and artistic endeavors. It is ideally situated to attract many participants from the Asian continent. Our meeting will be held on the campus of Korea University, which was established in 1905 and is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in South Korea. With over 30,000 students, the University offers a broad spectrum of academic programs in its 16 undergraduate colleges and 20 graduate divisions, with specializations in law, economics, journalism, medicine, the sciences and engineering.

All of those involved in the planning, organization and conduct of this joint meeting have worked hard to make this joint conference a great success. We thank all of our colleagues and the staff and students of Korea University who contributed to different aspects of this scientific event. We are especially grateful to the chairs of the Program Committee, Dr. Brian M. Cooke (ISCH Chair) and Dr. Peter J. Butler (ISB Chair) and their co-chairs, Dr. Tamas Alexy (ISCH) and Masaaki Sato (ISB); and Dr. Byoung Kwon Lee, Chair of the local organizing committee. In addition, we wish to recognize the invaluable contributions of Dr. Herbert J. Meiselman, Ms. Rosalinda B. Wenby and Dr. Gerard Nash, President of the ISCH, for their contributions to the editing of this abstract volume, and Dr. Joon Sang Lee, general secretary, and Dr. Simon Song, financial secretary, of the organizing committee.

Thank you for participating in this scientific event. Please enjoy Seoul, Korea.

Sehyun Shin, Co-Chair of Congress, ISCH, Korea University, Korea

Herbert H. Lipowsky, Co-Chair of Congress, ISB, Penn State University, USA

Poiseuille Gold Medal Awardee 2015

Dr. Geert W. Schmid-Schönbein, Professor of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA