Question: what is translational medicine

Amelia Markey answered on 17 Jun 2011:

Another good question!

And a very difficult one to answer even though I did a degree in it because it’s quite a new thing.

The wiki answer is:

“Translational medicine is a medical practice based on interventional epidemiology. It is regarded by its proponents as a natural progression from Evidence-Based Medicine. It integrates research from the basic sciences, social sciences and political sciences with the aim of optimising patient care and preventive measures which may extend beyond healthcare services.[citation needed] In short, it is the process of turning appropriate biological discoveries into drugs and medical devices that can be used in the treatment of patients.”

Yes…gibberish.

So my answer is:

A lot of research that’s done in science is for interest. And to answer questions like “what if?” and “why?” But a lot of people want research to be more “translational”. I’ve been getting a lot of questions asking why my work helps people and this is what translational research is. It is research that can directly have an application (or use) in the world. So translational medicine means research that can directly benefit patients either though better diagnosis/prognosis of diseases, better treatments, better care, or better prevention of diseases.

Hope that’s ok, if not I’ll try and do better 😉