When Alastair Murchie decided recently that he wanted to move back into academic research after a decade in the biotech world, he cast his net wide in search of the right position. The 48-year-old molecular biologist was living in Cambridge, England but was willing to consider jobs in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and China. When the offers came in, he found the choice was easy. ?Really, the best startup package I was offered was in China,? he says.
Murchie?s primary interest is in RNA biology, studying the relationship between its structure and function with high-throughput screening. The Institute of Biomedical Science at Fudan University in Shanghai made him an offer too good to refuse ? the chance to establish his own lab in brand-new facilities, fully funded for three years.
Since then, things have moved quickly, he says. ?I?ve been there the best part of a year and ...
