The Road to the EU Referendum

Throughout our series, "The Road to the Referendum", we travel the length and breadth of the region looking at how the North East will be affected by the EU Referendum on 23rd June.

Today, we see how science and research in the region could be affected by the public's decision.

Scientists at Newcastle's Centre for Life carry out medical research into a number of conditions, particularly rare diseases.

Some of their funding comes from Europe.

Victoria Hedley is the Rare Disease research co-ordinator at the Centre for Life.

She says European collaboration is vital, particularly when researching rare diseases where the number of patients in the UK is limited.

Leave campaigners argue that the money the Centre for Life receives could be given to British researchers whose research would help British patients.

Professor Volker Straub is from Germany and works in the Neuromuscular research team at the Centre for Life.

He argues research is done more effectively internationally.

George Pegg from Blyth has a rare muscle wasting condition. He from takes drugs developed at the Centre for Life which keep him out of a wheelchair. His mum Lilian says the family are anxious about the Referendum.

However, Leave campaigners say families like George's shouldn't have anything to fear if Britain leaves the EU, and that Brexit would actually benefit them.

They say that the British government gets back £350 million a week which could be reinvested in the UK, and that the research budget would benefit from it.

Andrew Saunders from the Leave Campaign told us that the Greek Euro Crisis meant that £2 billion was taken from a fund meant for scientific research.