Science research face funding fight

The University of Edinburgh is facing a ‘brain drain’ as experts warn government cuts could damage research opportunities.

The scientific community across Britain has expressed concern that proposed funding cuts could cause a research crisis throughout the country, forcing top scientific minds to move abroad.

The UK’s top universities are concerned that cuts of up to 25 per cent in the government’s science budget, expected to be announced as part of the comprehensive spending review later this month, could have devastating consequences.

David Willets, minister for science, said:“All of us in government understand that, alongside the need for austerity, it's absolutely essential that we deliver economic growth and it's clear that universities and the science base are fundamental for economic growth.”

Mr Willets also challenged Lord Krebs, chairman of the House of Lords’ science and technology committee, to provide evidence that the cuts would hurt the ability of the UK to recruit and maintain world class scientific talent in its academic institutions.

A cut of 25 per cent would result in a loss of almost £1 billion. Most savings would be expected to come from a reduction in infrastructure, fewer PhDs and a fall in grants for researchers.

Lord Krebs contacted senior academics at The University of Edinburgh, as well as Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, UCL and Imperial College London. Some universities say they are already having difficulty attracting the best researchers and teachers to their institutions and further cuts would make matters worse.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of University College London, said:“We simply will not be able to continue to compete against countries with bigger budgets and support from politicians who understand the importance of research. We should also not be surprised if competitor countries make it easier for our scientists and researchers to move abroad.”

Dr Carlos Gias, a stem cell researcher also at UCL, has decided to move either to the USA or Singapore to continue his research. His work is concerned with a form of blindness known as age-related macular degeneration.

Dr Gias was critical of the governments approach to scientific research funding: “They’re not going to fund more. That’s for sure. I just feel discouraged by the lack of acknowledgement [in the UK]. It’s not very rewarding.”

“In general my preference would be to be funded by a government body which gives you the opportunity to do your own research rather than research that has been planned by a [private] pharmaceutical company.”

The scale of the proposed cuts could damage the UK’s attachment to CERN, the Geneva-based home of the Large Hadron Collider project.