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Stem cell leader moves to industry

Another sign today of stem cell research becoming more commercial: An announcement that Stephen Minger, one of the field’s leading academics, will join GE Healthcare next week as head of Research and Development for Cell Technologies.

Minger, an American, has been in charge of stem cell biology at Guy’s Hospital and King’s College London since moving to the UK in 1996.

As well as being one of the top researchers into human embryonic stem cells in Britain - his lab has derived several hESC lines including ones with genetic mutations for cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease - Minger has been a fearless public advocate of stem cell science.

The relatively science-friendly legislative and regulatory framework for embryo research that has emerged in the UK owes something to Minger’s communications skills. He is one of the most open and media-friendly scientists I have come across, in any field.

“Leading GE Healthcare’s Cell Technologies research and development will allow me to bring many years of academic research in the stem cell field to bear in a commercial environment,” he says. “This is an opportunity for me to play a leading role in the realization of the emerging potential of stem cell technology in drug discovery and therapy, and to help grow a strategic business for GE Healthcare.”

Stephen Minger

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