Corporate

Overview

Traditionally, research has been organized much like a series of cottage industries by grouping researchers into broad areas of similar scientific interest and further clustering them into distinct specialties. However, the complexity of problems and challenges we face in society and the rate of advances in knowledge have created a need for the scientific community to overcome organizational barriers and bring about a convergence of the biomedical and physical science and engineering to address complex problems that can no longer be resolved from the perspectives of a single discipline. 

Across the scientific world, there is an increasing trend to conduct interdisciplinary research where these previously distinct boundaries meet. Such research facilitates the transfer of concepts and skills across scientific domains, and fosters the sort of creative environment that stimulates major discoveries. At A*STAR, the collective core capabilities of the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) and the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) present a huge opportunity for leveraging new breakthroughs at the cross-council interface. 
 
The A*STAR Cross Council Office (CCO) was thus formed in late 2007 to promote and support interdisciplinary research programs that span the fields of biomedical and physical science and engineering. The amalgamation of scientific talent at both Biopolis and Fusionopolis provides A*STAR with a compelling competitive advantage when undertaking interdisciplinary research. As a bridge between BMRC and SERC, the CCO aims to provide researchers with an interaction platform and resources to catalyze and explore new scientific opportunities and technologies.
 
The CCO mission is based on A*STAR’s firm belief that when creative minds from different disciplines work together, the result can be startling.
  
 
Scientific Advisory Board
 
  • Professor Sir David Lane, Chairman, Biomedical Research Council
  • Professor Charles Zukoski, Chairman, Science and Engineering Council
  • Professor Sir George Radda, Chairman, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium
  • Dr Keith Carpenter, Executive Director, Institute of Chemical & Engineering Sciences
  • Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director, Institute of Microelectronics
  • Professor Birgitte Lane, Executive Director, Institute of Medical Biology
  • Dr Lim Khiang Wee, Executive Director, Institute of Materials Research & Engineering
  • Professor Edison Liu, Executive Director, Genome Institute of Singapore
  • Dr Raj Thampuran, Executive Director, Institute of High Performance Computing