Nature Medicine
11, 705 - 708 (2005)
doi:10.1038/nm0705-705
Obstacles and opportunities in translational researchHeidi Hörig1, Elizabeth Marincola2
& Francesco M Marincola31
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Science, Columbia University Medical Center, 639 West 168th Street, Physicians and Surgeons Building 17-508, New York, New York 10032, USA. 2
Science Service, 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, USA. 3
Immunogenetics Section, Department of Transfusion Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-1502, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Francesco M Marincola fmarincola@cc.nih.govTraditional boundaries among basic research, clinical research and patient-oriented research are yielding to a single, continuous, bidirectional spectrum commonly termed 'translational research' or 'translational medicine.' These encompass (i) the definition of guidelines for drug development or for the identification and validation of clinically relevant biomarkers; (ii) experimental nonhuman and nonclinical studies conducted with the intent of developing principles for the discovery of new therapeutic strategies; (iii) clinical investigations that provide a biological foundation for the development of improved therapies; (iv) any clinical trial initiated in accordance with the above goals; and (v) basic science studies that define the biological effects of therapeutics in humans. Although these goals are essentially no different from those of traditional academic clinical research, translational research emphasizes strategies to expedite their successful implementation. Unfortunately, several barriers that delay this process need to be surmounted to make translational research more than just an interesting concept.
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