Clinical and Translational Research: From Bench-to-Bedside.
To improve human health, scientific discoveries must be translated into practical applications. Such discoveries typically begin at the bench with basic research in which scientists study disease at a molecular or cellular level and then progress to the clinical level, or the patient's bedside.
A bench-to-bedside approach to translational research is a partnership. Basic scientists provide clinicians with new tools for use in patients and for assessment of their impact, and clinical researchers make novel observations about the nature and progression of disease that often stimulate basic investigations.
Translational research
is a powerful process that drives the clinical research engine. However, we need to build a stronger research infrastructure to strengthen and accelerate this vital part of the clinical research enterprise. Barriers between clinical and basic research, along with the complexities involved in conducting clinical research, can make it difficult to translate new knowledge to the clinic and back to the bench. These challenges also can limit professional interest in the field and hamper the clinical research enterprise at a time when it must expand.
The Department of Pediatrics is taking a proactive, "team science" approach to preparing clinician scientists for the future. Team science is about developing new ideas, forging new partnerships, and collaboratively using new tools to address the complex problems facing biomedical researchers today. The creation of the Pediatric Grants and Research Support (GRS) Office, and the the Pediatric Clinical and Translational (PCAT) Research Scholars program will 1) nurture a cadre of well-trained, multi- and inter-disciplinary investigators and research teams; 2) create an incubator for innovative research tools and information technologies; and 3) bring together multi- and inter-disciplinary clinical and translational researchers to apply new knowledge and techniques to clinial practice at the leading edge of patient care.
In October 2006, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) launched the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) to help institutions form a transformative, novel, and integrative academic home for Clinical and Translational Science. For additional programmatic information about the CTSA program including the latest Request for Applications and Notices, please visit http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/clinicaldiscipline.asp.
For a few more articles about Translational Research, please see the links below...
Expanding the Research Continuum - From Bench to Implementation by Dr. Gary L. Freed
The Meaning of Translational Research and Why It Matters by Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH