Singapore joins UK on infectious disease research

Medical Tribune August 2008 SFI
David Brill

Singapore and the UK are to invest a total of $6m in infectious disease research as part of a collaborative project unveiled recently at Biopolis.

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) are to contribute $3m each to the fund.

The money will be spent directly on joint research projects, which are expected to focus on the identification of disease biomarkers and the development of new vaccines and diagnostic tests.

“This joint collaborative research fund bears testimony to the success of the ‘UK-Singapore Partners in Science’ programme and builds on the excellent exchange and interactions between the scientists from both sides,” said Mr. Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of A*STAR.

“The collaboration will also lead to more opportunities for our A*STAR scholars to pursue research attachments and training respectively at MRC units in the UK, as well as develop new PhD projects between the supervisors in Singapore and their partner supervisors in UK universities,” he said.
The announcement was made ahead of a roundtable discussion to further develop ideas and agree on a course of action for tackling infectious diseases. Other attendees included Mr. Ian Pearson, the UK Minister of State for Science and Innovation, and Professor Sir Roy Anderson, a prominent expert on infectious diseases and the incoming Rector of Imperial College, London.

Pearson, who co-hosted the discussion with Lim, said: "This significant new collaborative fund brings the best of Singapore and UK science together to fight infectious diseases.

“I would like to see similar partnerships tackling problems in other scientific fields.”
Infectious diseases are estimated to account for 20 percent of all deaths worldwide, and are the leading cause of mortality in developing countries according to WHO data.