California tempts stem cell specialist

One of Britain’s star scientists, who threatened to leave the country if the government cut research funding in this week’s spending review, is moving to California – but only on a part-time basis.

Professor Pete Coffey, who is developing a stem cell treatment for blindness at University College London, told the Financial Times he would resist the blandishments of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to move there full time.

“After everything we had heard beforehand about cuts, I was pleasantly stunned by the comprehensive spending review and the maintenance of level funding for research,” said Prof Coffey.

He was one of the high-profile scientists who helped to persuade the government to maintain funding for research as a whole in cash terms, and for the Medical Research Council in real terms.

Prof Coffey said last month that, if the MRC budget fell by more than 10 per cent, he would have to make members of his research team redundant and he would then succumb to the “enormous pressure” to move abroad.

The California institute has $3bn (£1.9bn) to spend on stem cell research – much more than any national government – and is trying hard to bring the world’s best stem cell scientists to the state through its research leadership awards.

The institute’s governing board approved on Thursday night a $4.8m six-year award for “recruiting Prof Coffey from UCL to the University of California, Santa Barbara”.

“Recruiting internationally renowned stem cell experts such as Prof Coffey builds a critical mass of stem cell leadership in California to drive the creation of innovative therapies for patients suffering from chronic disease or injury,” said Robert Klein, institute chairman.

“Bringing world-level scientists to California will directly accelerate the ability of California research to reach patients with breakthrough therapies for chronic disease and injury.”

Although Mr Klein’s statement suggested that Prof Coffey would be moving his base to California, Prof Coffey said that impression was misleading. “I am staying here [in London],” he said, “though I can foresee more and more pressure from Cirm to up sticks and move there.”

He said the $4.8m grant would enable him to set up a second laboratory at UC Santa Barbara, where he is already an adjunct professor, and accelerate his research.

However, the much anticipated trial of embryonic stem cells to cure macular degeneration, the main cause of blindness, will take place in London, probably early in 2012.