Scotland and Stem Cell Technology

Scotland has an enviable position in the stem cell and regenerative medicine field building on the initial research that produced the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, in 1996. This research, carried out at the Roslin Institute, showed for the first time that a single adult somatic cell, in Dolly’s case a mammary gland cell, could produce a healthy, whole individual.

This ground-breaking discovery triggered global research interest in stem cells and the development of methods which now allow cells to be reprogrammed. This technology gives researchers the ability to generate virtually infinite numbers of a predefined cell type from many different types of cells. For example, skin cells could be reprogrammed to become liver cells.

In parallel, our understanding of how normal cell growth and repair occurs has also progressed and, together with these new cell-based therapies, could have a profound impact on the way we treat degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis or diabetes.

Scotland has developed it’s position with ground-breaking, internationally-acclaimed research in stem cells and regenerative medicine so that today there is a vibrant community of world-class scientists and clinicians with a thriving commercial sector driving this technology forward.

SSCN’s role is to ensure that all members of this community have access to the latest, factual information and to foster collaboration to ensure this research translates into new therapies to treat people with a range of crippling diseases. A major part of this is to stimulate and inform public debate, to support charities and patient groups as well as educate and communicate with stakeholders.

Membership of SSCN is open to all and we aim to provide balanced, trustworthy and factual information to all our members.

A Foundation for Scientific Discovery

Scotland has a powerful life science research and technology base, which includes more than 600 organisations employing more that 30,000 employees, representing approximately 15% of the UK’s Life Science companies.

Edinburgh is home to Europe’s largest and most highly-regarded stem cell research community, but major stem cell and regenerative medicine groups now exist across Scotland. Stem cell research projects at these centres include;

Centre Disease Area
University of Aberdeen Diabetes, musculoskeletal and cartilage
University of Dundee Diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease and drug discovery
University of Edinburgh Central nervous system; bone, muscle and cartilage; liver; cornea; blood and inflammatory diseases
University of Glasgow Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. Blood production.
 
In terms of facilities, the $90m (£60m) MRC – Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburgh will open in March 2011 and be home to over 200 scientists. This unit is on a 100 ha. site which also houses over 1150 researchers in the Queen’s Medical Research Centre and the University Of Edinburgh Medical School, as well as an 870 bed teaching hospital. This development, called ‘Edinburgh BioQuarter’ puts scientists, clinicians and patients all on one site with the aim of enhancing collaboration and speeding up the rate at which research translates into products. To provide some commercial ‘pull’ to this concept a $34m (£24m) BioIncubator provides 100,000 sq ft of office space and laboratory facilities to companies keen to commercialise these innovations or to supply products. To support BioQuarter an $18m (£12m) Commercialisation Fund has been established by Scottish Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh. This model is strengthened across Scotland with similar centres of excellence in Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

World Class Research

Scotland’s position in stem cell technology is the result of the excellence of it’s medical and clinical research. Scotland’s Universities rank highly on the national and international stage;

  • The University of Edinburgh is ranked 3rd in the world for stem cell research based on citation impact (Source: ScienceWatch).
  • The University of Glasgow is ranked 4th in Europe and 31st in the world for clinical medicine above any London university based on citation impact (Source: ScienceWatch)
  • The University of Edinburgh has the same number of world-leading and internationally excellent clinical medicine researchers as the University of Cambridge (187 compared to 186 staff being world-leading and internationally excellent) (Source: RAE)
  • Out of the total UK clinical medicine funding budget, Dundee and Edinburgh receive more funding (2.4% and 2.8% respectively) than the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford (1.2% and 1.8% respectively) (Source: RAE)
  • Edinburgh receives the largest proportion of Scottish funding for clinical medicine (38.1%) closely followed by Dundee (31.7%) (Source: RAE)

On a global scale Scotland ranks;

  • 1st in the world for stem cell research based on citation impact 2007 (Source: ScienceWatch)
  • 4th in the World for clinical medicine papers and 1st within the G8 based on citation impact 2009 (Source: Evidence Ltd.)
  • 4th in the world for clinical medicine research based on citation impact 2009 (Source: ScienceWatch)

(RAE = UK Research Assessment Exercise 2008, Citation impact is regarded as the most widely accepted index of research quality, measured as the number of citations per paper. Analysis performed by Edinburgh Science Triangle)