The North scientist who first established a link between mad cow disease and its human form is quitting Britain.
Harash Narang has been head-hunted by a top US university to continue his research into variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
He was working for the Government's Public Health Laboratory Service in Newcastle when he revealed the link and later lost his job.
Dr Narang claimed he was made redundant because he went public with his findings, an allegation which has always been denied. He said: "I now have a job at the United States CJD Surveillance Centre based in Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
"I'm very excited because it has excellent facilities and is one of the best CJD surveillance centres in the world.
The university is examining a urine test pioneered by Dr Narang which can show whether someone has CJD.
Currently only a post-mortem diagnosis can be made.
Dr Narang said: "Early indications show that my test has performed even better than anticipated. It is expected to be validated very shortly."
And he revealed: "I do not regret telling the truth all those years ago. If I had to do it again then I would."
Ken Bell, a financial backer of Dr Narang's work, claimed he had been forced to go abroad because he cannot get laboratory time in the UK.
He said: "Harash has been blackballed in the UK because he told the public the truth.
"The establishment will try anything to stop him working here. It's a disgrace."
Noel Baldwin, of the CJD Foundation charity, said: "He has been proved right about so many things . . . that CJD can be transmitted through blood, that BSE can cause both variant and sporadic CJD and that you can test for the disease through urine samples."
Dr Narang starts work at Case University later this month. Shu Chen, one of his future colleagues, said: "He will be a great asset to our CJD research."
