Global competencies of regional stem cell research: bibliometrics for investigating and forecasting research trends.

We employed a bibliometric approach to examine regional stem cell research in the USA, the UK, Japan and China based on publications from 2007 to 2011 with a co-citation clustering analysis to identify region-specific clusters of global competencies. We observed that there are clear differences in the number and interdisciplinary spread of competencies across regions: the USA retains the largest capacity and capability for pursuing medical and pharmaceutical applications; China has shown substantial growth through fusion approaches with chemistry and material sciences; Japan has been pursuing basic biology and is currently seeking further growth; and the UK has shown considerable growth and quality with a focus on medical research and the widest interdisciplinary spread. Furthermore, we discuss policy implications from these results in terms of industrial and clinical applications. These findings provide a rational way of evaluating research policies and forecasting research trends.