The present chairman of Singapore's Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) Prof Sir George Radda has changed the way universities in Singapore approach the research paradigm. His pioneering efforts have elevated Singapore's research potential in multiple dimensions.

The council he heads today oversees the development of core research capabilities within A*Star's research units, specializing in bioprocessing, genomics and proteomics, molecular and cell biology, bioengineering and nanotechnology and computational biology. It also promotes translational medicine and cross-disciplinary research as part of its
efforts to advance human healthcare, apart from supporting biomedical research in the wider scientific community.

Under his leadership, BMRC has inked a number of industry collaborations clocking an average of 60-70 new industry collaborations-a-year. His other responsibilities in Singapore included being the scientific director and chairman of the Bioimaging Consortium (2005-10) and scientific advisor to the dean of National University of Singapore Medical School (2005-11). Since 2010, he has also held the position of director of Functional Metabolism Research Group.

Instrumental in fostering scientific exchange and collaboration between Singapore and Hungary, he facilitated the master collaboration agreement between A*Star and Hungary's National Office for Research and Technology in 2007 for the promotion of scientific R&D and human capital development.
National University of Singapore is now a leading research university in the world and Nanyang Technological University too is becoming a major research university. Prof Radda inculcated the thought that in addition to developing the research enterprise at A*star, it was important to recognize university research to generate assets in the country.

Giving direction to Singapore biotech
Prof Radda played a key role in the initiatives taken to give Singapore's university research strength and backbone. One of them was a collaboration between Oxford University and A*Star that offers joint PhD for the A*Star Graduate Scholarship program. He also promoted A*Star's Singapore International Graduate Awards (SINGA) for potential students from Hungary and other east European countries.