THE Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) expects to widen its global network by recruiting two renowned scientists who will provide top leadership.
Professor Paola Ricciardi-Castagnoli was appointed scientific director of the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) in September, while Dr Frank Eisenhaber became director of the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) in August. Dr Ricciardi-Castagnoli, who is well-known for her research on the immune system's dendritic cells, will work with SIgN's chairman and executive director on a strategy to establish immunology as a strength in Singapore and build a platform to better translate knowledge into medical applications.
Dr Eisenhaber intends to build on the strengths of BII and raise its standing to world class. "One immediate plan is to enhance BII's research in four divisions, centred around emerging methodologies in computational biology," he said.
These are automatic evaluation of microscopic pictures, genomic and gene expression data analysis, biomolecular modelling and gene function prediction.
Dr Eisenhaber and his research team at the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, where he was previously, made significant discoveries in the past eight years.
Professor Sir David Lane, chairman of A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council, said: "I am confident they will strengthen our capabilities in biomedical research and raise the international standing of SIgN and BII respectively."
