Translational careers

Advancing knowledge and research: developing a doctoral program in clinical and translational science

In an emerging field, such as clinical and translational science, questions of purpose and educational philosophy are crucial to consider as programs, competencies, and milestones are developed and become generally accepted as broad national standards. This article outlines issues to be taken into account as curricula are planned, implemented, and evaluated. It also discusses how philosophy, competencies, and assessments, including milestones, must be intertwined purposefully, with careful attention paid to the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Promoting the transition to independent scientist: a national career development program

The loss of new investigators from academic science places the future of biomedical science at risk. Failure to obtain independent funding contributes significantly to attrition from the academic career path. In this article, the authors describe the Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Geriatric Mental Health, a national program based at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University that matches new investigators with mentors to help them make a successful transition to independence. The program is multidisciplinary, and its faculty and participants (the latter known as "scholars") span the spectrum of translation, interventions, and services research. ARI helps scholars overcome three barriers to independence through the development of grant-preparation and time-management skills and consultation with statistical and other experts. The authors analyze the record of federal grant funding among the first four cohorts of ARI scholars (2004-2007, n = 42). As of January 2010, 45.2% of these scholars had achieved R01 funding and 69.1% had obtained National Institutes of Health grants (not including career development or small grants). The 24 scholars who had National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) mentored career development (mentored K) awards were 2.36 times (P = .048) more likely than the other 380 recipients of NIMH mentored K awards during the same period (2001-2005) to achieve R01 funding. Based on objective outcomes, ARI offers an effective model for stemming attrition of new investigators from the academic career path that is generalizable to other fields and promotes innovative, translational science.

Translational epidemiology in psychiatry: linking population to clinical and basic sciences

Translational research generally refers to the application of knowledge generated by advances in basic sciences research translated into new approaches for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease. This direction is called bench-to-bedside. Psychiatry has similarly emphasized the basic sciences as the starting point of translational research. This article introduces the term translational epidemiology for psychiatry research as a bidirectional concept in which the knowledge generated from the bedside or the population can also be translated to the benches of laboratory science. Epidemiologic studies are primarily observational but can generate representative samples, novel designs, and hypotheses that can be translated into more tractable experimental approaches in the clinical and basic sciences. This bedside-to-bench concept has not been explicated in psychiatry, although there are an increasing number of examples in the research literature. This article describes selected epidemiologic designs, providing examples and opportunities for translational research from community surveys and prospective, birth cohort, and family-based designs. Rapid developments in informatics, emphases on large sample collection for genetic and biomarker studies, and interest in personalized medicine--which requires information on relative and absolute risk factors--make this topic timely. The approach described has implications for providing fresh metaphors to communicate complex issues in interdisciplinary collaborations and for training in epidemiology and other sciences in psychiatry.

Translational medicine policy issues in infectious disease

The European Academies Science Advisory Council has published a series of reports on infectious disease policy issues, analyzing priorities for building the science base as part of public health strategy. Among current challenges facing the European Union are the needs to tackle antibiotic resistance, promote vaccine innovation, prepare for the emergence of novel zoonoses, and integrate research approaches to human and animal health. The scientific community must help public policy-makers to address the organization, balance, and sustainability of research funding and infrastructure; encourage the creation of a more supportive regulatory environment for translational medicine; and evaluate new models for public-private partnership to facilitate innovation.

Lost in translation--basic science in the era of translational research

The concept of translational research, which aims to facilitate the application of basic scientific discoveries in clinical and community settings, is currently in vogue. While there are powerful forces driving this trend, support for translational research must be accompanied by a robust investment in basic science, which provides the essential raw material for translation and continues to represent humanity's best hope to meet a wide range of public health challenges.