Scientist aims to beat the clock in finding stem cell cures

There are no guarantees in scientific research, but Roger Pedersen has a better chance than most to make his dreams become reality. As the head of the world's biggest stem cell study centre, his hopes to find cures for diseases such as diabetes could be just a few years away.

Dr Pedersen, a professor of regenerative medicine at Britain's Cambridge University, has good reason to be optimistic. When named director of the university's new Stem Cell Institute last month, he was given a Euro16.5 million (HK$159.5 million) initial budget and leadership of a 250-strong scientific community. Most importantly, though, was the nature of the work he would lead - right on the cutting-edge of medicine.

Scientists view stem cells as the future of medicine. As the master cells that turn into every kind of human tissue, they could potentially be used to replace damaged cells in people suffering diseases.

While breakthroughs so far have been made by researchers working with blood cells, no significant achievements have yet been made in finding cures for killer diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Research teams have also generally been small, in size and focus, and limited to a few countries where finance for such work is available - the US, Britain, Australia, China, Singapore and South Korea. The field was limited further in 2001, when US President George W. Bush banned federally funded laboratories from doing work that involved the creation of any type of human embryo.

That was the impetus for Dr Pedersen, an American, to move to Cambridge University from the University of California in San Francisco. Britain was the first country to authorise the cloning of human embryos to produce stem cells for research. It also boasts the world's first human stem cell bank.