Biography

Professor Sir George Radda
Chairman, Biomedical Research Council (BMRC)
Emeritus Professor of Molecular Cardiology, University of Oxford

Sir George Radda is well known for his pioneering efforts in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods used to study the human body; he published the first use of phosphorus NMR to study tissue metabolites in 1974. Since then, he has been actively involved in the development of this method for biochemical and clinical investigations especially in the area of cardiology and has won numerous accolades for his work on using non-invasive methods to monitor the inner workings of the human body.

Professor Radda has been involved with Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences initiative since 2003 when he first served as a member of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council. Professor Radda was a key driver in building up bioimaging capabilities in the basic and translational biomedical sciences. This led to the establishment of the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) in 2005 in which he is the Chairman from 2005 – 2010. He was also a key driver in building up bioimaging capabilities for clinical R&D in Singapore through the establishment of the Clinical Imaging Research Centre (CIRC) in 2007. The CIRC is one of the few facilities in the world dedicated to doing clinical R&D, using state of the art bioimaging tools developed by Siemens.

Professor Radda was instrumental in fostering scientific exchange and collaborations between Singapore and Hungary. This finally culminated with a Master Collaboration Agreement signing in 2007 between A*STAR and Hungary's National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH) to formalise both parties' commitment to promote scientific R&D and enhance human capital development. Since then, both A*STAR and NKTH have organized the inaugural joint grant call for proposals in September 2008. He was also part of the effort behind the agreement with Oxford University and A*STAR to offer a joint PhD program for the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship program. Professor Radda also has actively promoted A*STAR’s Singapore International Graduate Awards (SINGA) to potential students from Hungary and other Eastern European countries. For his efforts in developing of research in Singapore, Professor Radda was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2008. He was appointed as the Chairman of A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) in October 2008 and also serves as chief scientific advisor to A*STAR’s Joint Council Office. He is also a member of A*STAR and BMRC Board.

Other appointments which he held during his distinguished career include being the Chief Executive of the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council (MRC) from 1996-2003. During Professor Radda’s term as Chief Executive of the MRC, oversaw the inter-council working group on behalf of Research Councils UK to develop a combined strategy and vision for the 7 research councils in the UK. The result was the publication of two documents namely, “Strategies for Synthesis” and “A Vision for Research” on cross council research efforts. Professor Radda was also the British Heart Foundation Professor of Molecular Cardiology (1984-2003) and most recently, Professor and Head of the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at Oxford University.

Professor Radda’s obtained his MA in Chemistry and D.Phil. in Physical Organic Chemistry at Merton College Oxford. His current research interests range from studies of enzyme regulation, bioenergetics and in-vivo biochemistry in relation to human disease, in particular heart disease. For his pioneering efforts in establishing clinical NMR, he has received numerous honors, such as being elected as a member of the Royal Society in 1980, made a Commander of the British Empire in 1993 and knighted in 2000. He has also won many awards such as the British Heart Foundation Gold Medal in 1982, the Buchanan Medal of the Royal Society in 1987 and most recently, the Medal of Merit from the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences in 2006.

Last Updated On 06 October 2011