Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 12 November (WA 207–8), which recent publications demonstrating research excellence the Medical Research Council relied on in awarding an extension to the research project entitled "Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer"; and what were the impact factors associated with those publications.
Answer
The Medical Research Council (MRC) awarded a one-year extension to the University of Newcastle for the project "Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer". The award, which is an extension to the duration of the study, was granted at no additional cost to the MRC to allow the completion of the planned research. Such a time-only extension is the standard mechanism employed by the MRC for allowing grants to fulfil their original objectives. As such awards involve no significant changes to the research plans they are not subject to additional peer review. The original award, which was made in 2007, was subject to the MRC’s rigorous peer review process and was considered to be internationally competitive. The MRC’s peer review process includes an assessment of the importance of the scientific questions being asked, the research programme’s potential for advancing biomedical science, and the justification for the resources requested; any ethical issues that need further attention are also identified. The process does not include a formal assessment of an applicant's previous research papers and any associated impact factors.