Singapore has invested $15 million in tissue engineering research at the Technion

This is as part of an ongoing investment by the Singaporeans in the Technion and the Weizmann Institute

The National Research Foundation (NRF) and Singapore's Ministry of Education announced on Friday that they will invest 20 million Singapore dollars (about 15 million US dollars) in tissue engineering research at the Technion. The research will be shared by Technion researchers and researchers from Singapore. A total of 40 million dollars will be invested over five years in support of the Technion and the Weizmann Institute, which will be directed to the promotion of cooperation between the two countries.

The Technion was represented at the signing ceremony by the senior vice president, Professor Paul Feigin, and the project leader on behalf of the Technion, Dr. Dror Slickter from the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering.

The research center, which will be established in Singapore, will serve researchers from the Technion as well as researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology (NTU). The heads of the NRF said that despite the economic depression, their government will invest the considerable amount in its fourth research center of excellence, with the aim of maintaining a competitive economy.

Technion Vice President for Research, Professor Oded Shmueli, said that the results of the research in this field are expected to influence the development of advanced treatments in the heart field.
NRF emphasized that Singapore's investments in research centers of excellence are aimed at the long term, and that these investments are important because, in view of developing markets such as China and India, which also pay the same attention to research and development, it is important for Singapore to differentiate itself in specific research areas.

The new Singapore research center in tissue regeneration will employ about 25 researchers and workers. In addition, there will be seven Technion researchers - Prof. Habzalet Bianko-Feld, Prof. Lior Gepstein, Prof. Eyal Sussman, Dr. Dvir Yelin, Dr. Shulamit Levenberg, Prof. Marcel Mahloof and Dr. Dror Slickter, who research various fields of engineering Tissues.

The President of NUS University, Professor Te Chur Chuan, said of the NRF's investments: "We believe that the synergies between the researchers will lead to very interesting discoveries, which I think will help us in the long term to find new solutions for our patients. We hope that by building these scientific and technical capabilities we will strengthen the infrastructure of scientific research and train a group of people who will be able to lead research in very important areas. If we do this over time, we can build Singapore as a center for scientific research and development. And we have to do it in Singapore, because we are a small country. With China and India becoming commercially leading players on the international stage, Singapore must differentiate itself, and it can do so through these long-term investments. That way it can become a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship."