By Daryl Lo
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - British scientist Alan Colman, who helped
clone Dolly the sheep, is leaving Singapore, dealing another blow
to the city-state's biotech ambitions.
Stem cell scientist Colman, who had been lured to the city-state
with grants and research facilities, now heads a Singapore
consortium in stem cell research. He will leave next May for the
Stem Cell Centre at King's College London, the city-state's Agency
for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said in a
statement.
The latest move follows news in September that two other top
British scientists, David and Birgitte Lane, will also leave next
year, giving weight to the World Bank's criticism that Singapore's
biotech drive was overly reliant on "footloose" scientists who
could leave at short notice.
Over the last five years, Singapore has ploughed more than $2.1
billion into its biomedical sector, spending generously on
start-ups, new labs and on luring top scientists such as Colman and
the Lanes from the U.S. and Europe.
Colman, who came to Singapore in 2002, told Reuters in an separate
email that he will be dividing his time between Singapore and
London, spending about a quarter of his time in Singapore. "There
will be scientific benefits to Singapore, I believe, from my move
to London," he told Reuters on Tuesday.
But that argument cut no ice with the most outspoken critic of
Singapore's biomedical policy: Lee Wei Ling, whose father Lee Kuan
Yew founded modern Singapore and whose brother Lee Hsien Loong now
runs the country as prime minister.
"How can you run research in Singapore on one-third or one-quarter
of your time? You must be extremely efficient or not involved
enough and so are not worth the money," Lee told Reuters.
"NO SIGNIFICANT RESULTS"
Lee, a pediatrician who heads the National Neuroscience Institute
(NNI), said that it was an inevitable that foreign researchers
"will go where there's money available" as more Western
universities raise funding for biomedical research.
She had earlier called for a reassessment of Singapore's biotech
strategy. She said that billions of dollars have been spent without
achieving significant results.
"I stand by my earlier statements. The reason I spoke out was
because I thought what was going on was very wrong, and I just hope
my message sinks home with the policy makers," Lee said.
Lee, 52, lives with her father Lee Kuan Yew, who still holds an
influential position in his son's cabinet with the title of
"Minister Mentor".
"I'm speaking out as "citizen Lee", not as MM's daughter, or PM's
sister, but as someone very close to the ground when it comes to
research, so I know what's relevant," Lee said.
Asked if there were concerns about the growing exodus of foreign
scientists, A*STAR Chairman Lim Chuan Poh told Reuters in an email:
"We have always taken a pragmatic and flexible approach towards the
hiring of top foreign scientists. The main focus is to find
arrangements that enable them to be engaged in Singapore in a
meaningful and impactful way."[/url]
