[1] Regenerative medicine involves processes of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function.

A major technology of regenerative medicine is tissue engineering,[2] which has variously been defined as "an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and the life sciences toward the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function", or "the creation of new tissue by the deliberate and controlled stimulation of selected target cells through a systematic combination of molecular and mechanical signals".

The SYIS, Student and Young Investigator Section was established in January 2006, website and newsletter launched and membership dues procedures put in place.

At the beginning of the Society, it was agreed that there would be Continental Chapters of TERMIS, initially TERMIS-North America (TERMIS-NA) and TERMIS-Europe (TERMIS-EU), to be joined at the time of the major Shanghai conference in October 2005 by TERMIS-Asia Pacific (TERMIS-AP).

Each TERMIS chapter has defined awards to recognize outstanding scientists and their contributions within the community.