"It is truly exciting to launch an online journal covering the extremely relevant area of tissue fibrosis and repair. The opportunity to address key issues in this area of biology and medicine with a sound inter-disciplinary philosophy will certainly lead to a better communication and, hopefully constructive collaborative efforts, between basic scientists and clinicians involved in the study and the cure of chronic fibrogenic disorders. In addition the online system of BioMed Central offers creative opportunities for authors to include in their manuscripts large datasets, links to other web pages, unlimited colour illustrations and animations and movie clips. Open access means that high quality research on fibrogenesis and tissue repair will be freely available to all, without charge, worldwide, and this is definitely a step forward towards a fast and global spread of knowledge."

Massimo Pinzani
University of Florence, School of Medicine

A short biography
Massimo Pinzani is a clinical hepatologist with a long-standing interest in the research of cellular and molecular mechanisms of hepatic fibrogenesis and relative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. He is currently Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine-Centre for Research, High Education and Transfer of the University of Florence School of Medicine, Florence, Italy where he teaches Pathophysiology, Hepatology and Applied Biotechnology. Professor Pinzani has served for more than ten years as associate editor for major hepatology and gastroenterology international journals.