Singapore To Invest 20 Million Singapore Dollars in
Tissue Engineering Research at the Technion

Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and Ministry of Education announced on Friday, February 20, 2009, that they will invest 20 million Singapore dollars (about US$ 15 million) in tissue engineering research at the Technion. The research will be a joint project of Technion and Singapore researchers. In total, they will invest 40 million dollars over five years in support for the Technion and the Weizmann Institute, which will work to advance cooperation between the two states.

Representing the Technion at the signing ceremony was Technion Senior Executive Vice President, Prof. Paul Feigin; and Dr. Dror Seliktar of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering (who will lead the project on behalf of the Technion).

The research centre, which will be set up in Singapore, will serve the Technion researchers as well as those from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National Technological University of Singapore (NTU).

The NRF heads said that despite the economic depression, their government will invest a considerable sum in its fourth Research Centre of Excellence in order to preserve its economic competitiveness.

Technion Executive Vice President for Research, Prof. Oded Shmueli, said that it is anticipated that research results in this field will influence the development of advanced therapies for heart disease.
 
The NRF stressed that Singapore’s investments in its Research Centres of Excellence are for the long-term and that these investments are important because, in light of developing markets such China and India, which are also devoting similar attention to research and development, it is important for Singapore to differentiate itself in specific research fields.
 
The new Research Centre of Excellence in Tissue Regeneration will employ some 25 researchers and staff. In addition, it will employ seven Technion researchers – Prof. Havazelet Bianco-Peled, Prof. Lior Gepstein, Prof. Eyal Zussman, Dr. Dvir Yellin, Dr. Shulamit Levenberg, Prof. Marcelle Machluf and Dr. Dror Seliktar – who will be researching various areas of tissue engineering.

NUS President, Prof. Tan Chorh Chuan, speaking about the NRF investments, said: "We believe that the synergies between the researchers will lead to very interesting discoveries, that, in my opinion, in the long run, will assist us in finding new solutions for our patients. We hope that in building these scientific and technological capabilities, we will strengthen the infrastructure of scientific research and will train personnel who will be able to lead research in these very important fields. If we will do this, over time, we can build up Singapore as a center for scientific research and development. It is incumbent upon us to do this in Singapore because we are a small nation. In light of China and India, who are becoming leading commercial players on the international scene, Singapore must differentiate itself and it can do this through long-term investments such as these. Thus Singapore can become a hothouse for innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Technion spokesman, Amos Levav: 052-4524873