Indian-origin cancer expert warns of Brexit impact

An Indian-origin cancer expert who was recently knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday warned against London losing out on scientific talent in the wake of Brexit, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reports.

Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, was speaking at the launch of a new 650-million-pound Francis Crick Institute biomedical research centre in London.

"The Crick will be a place that absolutely attracts the very best people from across the world. We need to make it as easy as possible for that to happen. That is true pre- and post-Brexit. That is absolutely critical for us," Kumar said.

"The fundamental point is that we are all about attracting the best and brightest scientists from wherever they are. That is what underpins fresh thinking and fresh ideas. Science is also dependent on bringing these different perspectives together," he stressed.

The institute is the biggest biomedical research facility in Europe and a partnership between the UK's Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust, University College London, Imperial College London and King's College London.

Cancer Research UK contributed 160 million pounds towards the Crick's landmark new building, beside the famous British Library in King's Cross area of London.

The construction work on the new institute has been completed this week, with the first of its 1,250 scientists set to move in over the next month. The new facility will open to the public next year.

The institute, named after Francis Crick the British scientist who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins for his work on the structure of DNA will have a budget of about 130 million pounds to seek breakthrough therapies.

Following Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) in the June 23 referendum, there have been some concerns of the impact on joint UK-Europe research projects and ease of bringing in European scientists to conduct research in the UK.