Announcement from Hideaki Nagase:

Dear Friends,

I regret that I have to deliver the sad news that J. Frederick Woessner, Jr. passed away on 27 July, 2017, aged 89. Fred was Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami, Florida, USA, and was one of the great pioneer investigators of proteases in the extracellular matrix, working in the field since 1956. His life-long research interest was the physiological role of collagenase in collagen degradation. He investigated it using the postpartum rat uterine model where rapid tissue resorption takes place. In the early 1970’s he discovered neutral metalloproteases in cartilage, which formed the foundation for the later studies on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and adamalysin-like metalloproteinases (ADAMTSs) in arthritis. He was an advocate of the challenging task of characterizing protease activities by extracting them directly from the tissue without using culture systems. Fred was an active participant in Collagen and MMP Gordon Conferences over many decades and his wisdom and sense of humor will be greatly missed.

With much prayer,
Hideaki Nagase