Translational research

Translational research (TR) – often used interchangeably with translational medicine – is a highly interdisciplinary field, the primary goal of which is to coalesce assets of various natures within the individual pillars in order to improve the global healthcare system significantly. The goal of translational medicine is to combine disciplines, resources, expertise, and techniques within these pillars to promote enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, and therapies.

Translational research (also referred to as translational science) is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine (EUSTM) as an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, bedside and community.

It is defined for school based education by the Education Futures Collaboration (www.meshguides.org) as research which translates concepts to classroom practice (Burden et al 2013. Examples of translational research are commonly found in education subject association journals and in the MESHGuides which have been designed for this purpose (Younie (2016)).

Translational research applies findings from basic science to enhance human health and well-being. In a medical research context, it aims to "translate" findings in fundamental research into medical practice and meaningful health outcomes. Translational research implements a "bench-to-bedside", from laboratory experiments through clinical trials to point-of-care patient applications, model, harnessing knowledge from basic sciences to produce new drugs, devices, and treatment options for patients. The end point of translational research is the production of a promising new treatment that can be used with practical applications, that can then be used clinically or are able to be commercialized.

As a relatively new research discipline, translational research incorporates aspects of both basic science and clinical research, requiring skills and resources that are not readily available in a basic laboratory or clinical setting. It is for these reasons that translational research is more effective in dedicated university science departments or isolated, dedicated research centres. Since 2009, the field has had specialized journals, the American Journal of Translational Research and Translational Research dedicated to translational research and its findings.

Translational research is broken down into different stages, including two-stage (T1 and T2), four-stage (T1, T2, T3, and T4), and five-stage (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5) schemes. In a two-stage model, T1 research, refers to the "bench-to-bedside" enterprise of translating knowledge from the basic sciences into the development of new treatments and T2 research refers to translating the findings from clinical trials into everyday practice. In a five-stage scheme, T1 involves basic research, T2 involves pre-clinical research, T3 involves clinical research, T4 involves clinical implementation, and T5 involves implementation in the public health sphere.

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