A South Korean renowned university announced Monday it will conduct examination to the authenticity of the stem cell research led by its visiting professor Hwang Woo- suk, who has been in a center of controversy in recent months.

Earlier Monday, research affairs office of the Seoul National University (SNU) announced it will set up an ad hoc panel to look into the authenticity of the latest result of the stem cell research.

The office's head Roe Jung-hye said at a press conference less than 10 qualified but neutral experts in the field will kick off examination immediately.

Roe said the panel could share information and data with the US journal Science, as well as the University of Pittsburgh, which are conducting their own independent examinations of Hwang's stem cell work.

In May this year, Hwang's team announced in a paper published in Science that it had successfully produced 11 different stem cells tailored to individual patients, paving the way for future development of therapies for hard-to-cure diseases.

Last week, local media quoted a former fellow researcher in Hwang's team as reporting that parts of the pictures of the stem cells were manipulated.

Moreover, some scholars claimed the DNA fingerprints of those stem cells are too similar.

Science was reportedly asked Hwang's team to review the data and DNA analysis process.

The University of Pittsburgh is also investigating the stem cell research independently. Gerald Schatten, a professor of the US university had worked together with Hwang in the stem cell research before they stopped cooperation last month.

At Monday's news conference, Roe said the panel will initially focus on whether there are errors in the data published in Science this year.

Based on the findings, the panel will decide on how it will proceed with the investigation, according to Roe.

Controversy surrounding Hwang's recent stem cell research erupted last month when a local TV station said Hwang's team used ova paid for by a local hospital and that two of his female junior researchers donated their eggs in 2003 for embryonic stem cell research.

In late November, Hwang admitted the ethical problems existed in the process of his research and resigned from all public posts.

The controversy intensified after the a series of programs of the same TV station questioned the validity of Hwang's research results.

The SNU's decision to conduct the investigation came after Hwang delivered his request to the university on last Sunday.

The stem cell expert was discharged from hospital early Monday. He had been hospitalized for one week for exhaustion and a stomach ulcer.

Hwang's team succeeded in cloning embryonic stem cells in 2004 for the first time in the world and again stunned the world in May 2005 by extracting embryonic stem cells from individual patients' somatic cells.

Source: Xinhua