Translational medicine

Last updated

Translational medicine (often called translational science, of which it is a form) develops the clinical practice applications of the basic science aspects of the biomedical sciences; that is, it translates basic science to applied science in medical practice. It is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine as "an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, bedside, and community". [1] The goal of translational medicine is to combine disciplines, resources, expertise, and techniques within these pillars to promote enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, and therapies. Accordingly, 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. [1]

Contents

History

Translational medicine is a rapidly growing discipline in biomedical research and aims to expedite the discovery of new diagnostic tools and treatments by using a multi-disciplinary, highly collaborative, "bench-to-bedside" approach. [2] Within public health, translational medicine is focused on ensuring that proven strategies for disease treatment and prevention are actually implemented within the community. One prevalent description of translational medicine, first introduced by the Institute of Medicine's Clinical Research Roundtable, highlights two roadblocks (i.e., distinct areas in need of improvement): the first translational block (T1) prevents basic research findings from being tested in a clinical setting; the second translational block (T2) prevents proven interventions from becoming standard practice. [2]

The National Institutes of Health has made a major push to fund translational medicine, especially within biomedical research, with a focus on cross-functional collaborations (e.g., between researchers and clinicians); leveraging new technology and data analysis tools; and increasing the speed at which new treatments reach patients. In December 2011, The National Center for Advancing Translational Science was established within the National Institutes of Health to "transform the translational science process so that new treatments and cures for disease can be delivered to patients faster." [3] The Clinical and Translational Science Awards, established in 2006, supports 60 centers across the country that provide "academic homes for translational sciences and supporting research resources needed by local and national research communities." [4] According to an article published in 2007 in Science Career Magazine, in 2007 to 2013 the European Commission targeted a majority of its €6 billion budget for health research to further translational medicine. [5]

Training and education

In recent years, a number of educational programs have emerged to provide professional training in the skills necessary for successfully translating research into improved clinical outcomes. These programs go by various names (including Master of Translational Medicine and Master of Science in Bioinnovation). Many such programs emerge from bioengineering departments, often in collaboration with clinical departments.

Master and PhD programs

The University of Edinburgh has been running an MSc in Translational Medicine program since 2007. It is a 3-year online distance learning programme aimed at the working health professional. [6]

Aalborg University Denmark has been running a master's degree in translational medicine since 2009.

A master's degree program in translational medicine was started at the University of Helsinki in 2010.

In 2010, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco used a founding grant from Andy Grove [7] to launch a joint program that became the Master of Translational Medicine (MTM). [8] The program links the Bioengineering department at Berkeley with the Bioengineering and Therapeutic Science department at UCSF to give students a one-year experience in fostering medical innovation.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California was accredited in 2012 for a doctoral program in Biomedical Science and Translational Medicine. The PhD program focuses on biomedical and clinical research that relate directly to developing new therapies for patients. [9]

Since 2013, the Official Master in Translational Medicine-MSc [10] from the University of Barcelona [11] offers the opportunity to gain an excellent training through theoretical and practical courses. [12] Furthermore, this master is linked to the doctoral programme “Medicine and Translational Research”, with quality mention from the National Agency for the Quality Evaluation and Accreditation (ANECA). [13]

In Fall 2015, the City College of New York [14] established a master in translational medicine program. [15] [14] A partnership between The Grove School of Engineering and the Sophie Davis School for Biomedical Education/CUNY School of Medicine, this program provides scientists, engineers, and pre-med students with training in product design, intellectual property, regulatory affairs, and medical ethics over 3 semesters. The University of Toronto The Master of Health Science (MHSc) in Translational Research in Health Sciences is a two-year, course-based program is designed for interprofessional students from diverse backgrounds (such as medicine, life sciences, social sciences, engineering, design, and communications) who want to learn creative problem-solving skills, strategies, and competencies to translate (scientific) knowledge into innovations that improve medicine, health, and care. They have international speakers and contributors, including Dr Iseult Roche from The UK. Translational medicine is a key to the future of international health and in facilitating public health and promoting health policy to actively be implemented to establish care.

University of Liverpool, King's College London, Imperial College London, University College London, St George's, University of London, Oxford and Cambridge Universities run post-graduate courses in Translational Medicine too.

The George Washington University's School of Medicine & Health Sciences offers a PhD program in Translational Health Sciences. [16]

The University of Manchester, Newcastle University and Queen's University Belfast also offer research-focussed Masters of Research (MRes) courses in Translational Medicine. [17]

Queen's University's School of Graduate Studies offers both an MSc and PhD program in Translational Medicine. [18]

University of Windsor's Faculty of Graduate Studies offers a one year MSc program in Translational Health Science. [19]

Tulane University has a PhD program in Bio-Innovation [20] to foster design and implementation of innovative biomedical technologies.

Temple University's College of Public Health offers a Master of Science in Clinical Research and Translational Medicine. [21] The program is jointly offered with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

Mahidol University at Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi hospital has a Master and PhD programme in Translational Medicine since 2012. Mahidol University is the first University in Thailand and in Southeast Asia. The most of programme lecturers are physicians and clinicians who contribute in many fields of study such as Cancer, Allergy and Immunology, Haematology, Paediatric, Rheumatology, etc. Here, the student will be directly exposed to patients. To find out the thing in between basic science and clinical application.

University of Würzburg started a Master programme in Translational Medicine in 2018. [22] It is aimed at medical students in the third or fourth year pursuing a career as a Clinician Scientist.

St. George's University of London offers a 1-year Translational Medicine master's programme since 2018, including pathways leading to a Master of Research (MRes), Master of Science (MSc), Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip). Both master's degrees include a research component that makes up 33% of the MSc pathway and 58% of the MRes pathway. Taught modules are designed to cover major areas of modern translational science including drug development, genomics and development of skills related to research and data analysis. [23]

Perdana University's Graduate School of Medicine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia offers a Master of Science (MSc) in Translational Medicine. [24]

Diplomas and courses

Academy of Translational Medicine Professionals offers a regular professional certification course "Understanding Translational Medicine Tools and Techniques". [25]

James Lind Institute has been conducting a Postgraduate Diploma in Translational Medicine since early 2013. The program has been supported by the Universiti Sains Malaysia. [26]

The University of Southern California School of Pharmacy offers a course in translational medicine.

International organizations

European Society for Translational Medicine

The European Society for Translational Medicine is a global non-profit and neutral healthcare organization whose principal objective is to enhance world-wide healthcare by using translational medicine approaches, resources and expertise. [1]

The society facilitates cooperation and interaction among clinicians, scientists, academia, industry, governments, funding and regulatory agencies, investors and policy makers in order to develop and deliver high-quality translational medicine programs and initiatives with overall aim to enhance the healthcare of global population. The society's goal is to enhance research and development of novel and affordable diagnostic tools and treatments for the clinical disorders affecting global population. [1]

The society provides an annual platform in the form of global congresses where global key opinion leaders, scientists from bench side, public health professionals, clinicians from bedside and industry professionals gather and take part in the panel discussions and scientific sessions on latest updates and developments in translational medicine field including biomarkers, omics sciences, cellular and molecular biology, data mining & management, precision medicine & companion diagnostics, disease modelling, vaccines and community healthcare. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the European Society for Translational Medicine announced a global virtual congress on COVID-19 (EUSTM-2020). The Virtual Congress focused on the key principles of Translational Medicine: Bench side, Bed side and Public Health. The congress aims to address current challenges, highlight novel solutions and identify critical hurdles as they apply to COVID-19. [33]

Academy of Translational Medicine Professionals

Academy of Translational Medicine Professionals is working to advance the ongoing knowledge and skills for clinicians and scientific professionals at all levels. Academy's high quality, standard and ethical training and educational programs ensure that all clinical and scientific professionals achieve excellence in their respective fields. Programs are accredited by the European Society for Translational Medicine. [1]

Fellowship program

Academy of Translational Medicine Professionals offers fellowship program which is open to highly experienced professionals who have a record of significant achievements in benchside, bedside or community health fields. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of the integrated healthcare Montefiore Health System and also has affiliations with Jacobi Medical Center and Yeshiva University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health informatics</span> Computational approaches to health care

Health informatics is the study and implementation of computer structures and algorithms to improve communication, understanding, and management of medical information. It can be viewed as branch of engineering and applied science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leiden University Medical Center</span> Hospital in ZA Leiden, Netherlands

Leiden University Medical Center or LUMC is the university hospital affiliated with Leiden University, of which it forms the medical faculty. It is located in Leiden, Netherlands. LUMC is a modern university medical center for research, education and patient care. Its research practice ranges from pure fundamental medical research to applied clinical research.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. It is composed of six schools: McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UTHealth School of Dentistry, Cizik School of Nursing, UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics and UTHealth School of Public Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SUNY Downstate Medical Center</span> Hospital in New York City, United States

SUNY Downstate Medical Center is a public medical school and hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It is the southernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and the only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn's 2.5 million residents. As of Fall 2018, it had a total student body of 1,846 and approximately 8,000 faculty and staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine</span> Medical school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, encompasses both a medical program, offering the doctor of medicine, and graduate programs, offering doctor of philosophy and master's degrees in several areas of biomedical science, clinical research, medical education, and medical informatics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical laboratory scientist</span> Medical professional who works in the laboratory

A Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) or Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) or Medical Technologist (MT) performs diagnostic testing of blood and body fluids in clinical laboratories. The scope of a medical laboratory scientist's work begins with the receipt of patient or client specimens and terminates with the delivery of test results to physicians and other healthcare providers. The utility of clinical diagnostic testing relies squarely on the validity of test methodology. To this end, much of the work done by medical laboratory scientists involves ensuring specimen quality, interpreting test results, data-logging, testing control products, performing calibration, maintenance, validation, and troubleshooting of instrumentation as well as performing statistical analyses to verify the accuracy and repeatability of testing. Medical laboratory scientists may also assist healthcare providers with test selection and specimen collection and are responsible for prompt verbal delivery of critical lab results. Medical Laboratory Scientists in healthcare settings also play an important role in clinical diagnosis. An estimated 70% of medical decisions are based on laboratory test results and MLS contributions affect 95% of a health system's costs.

Aberdeen University School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition contains the Medical School and Dental School at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. It also provides training and carries out research in medical sciences, nutrition, public health, dentistry, health sciences, physician associate studies at BSc, MSc, and PhD levels. The current school was formed from the merger of the former School of Medicine & Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, and the Rowett Institute of Nutrition.

North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine is an American educational institution located in Raleigh, North Carolina that offers master's and doctorate-level degree programs; interdisciplinary research in a range of veterinary and comparative medicine topics through centers, institutes, programs and laboratories; and external engagement through public service programs and activities.

The Monash University Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences is an Australian healthcare provider. It comprises 10 schools, teaching and clinical centers and research institutes. The faculty offers undergraduate, postgraduate and professional education programs in medicine, nursing and allied health, and is a member of the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology</span>

The Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) is a nonprofit research institute founded in 1990, aiming to foster research in biomedicine and biotechnology and multidisciplinary graduate teaching at the University of Coimbra. CNC was the first established “Laboratório Associado” in Portugal, and it has steadily increased the scope of scientific competences over the years, with a strong focus on the exploitation of the fundamental mechanisms of ageing and brain diseases.

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is a non-profit organisation for European clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals in the field of allergy and clinical immunology, covering asthma, rhinitis, eczema and occupational allergy, food and drug allergy, severe anaphylactic reactions, autoimmune disorders, and immunodeficiencies.

Translational research is research aimed at translating (converting) results in basic research into results that directly benefit humans. The term is used in science and technology, especially in biology and medical science. As such, translational research forms a subset of applied research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Washington Department of Bioengineering</span>

The University of Washington Department of Bioengineering is a joint department of the College of Engineering and School of Medicine, and is located in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Created in 1985, the University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore (UMGSB) represents the combined graduate and research programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), the university system's doctoral research campuses in the Baltimore area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences</span> Medical school of the University of Buffalo, New York, US

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, also known as Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is a public medical school in the city of Buffalo, New York, at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is the only medical school in Buffalo. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

A physician-scientist is traditionally a holder of a medical degree and a doctor of philosophy also known as an MD-PhD. Compared to other clinicians, physician-scientists invest significant time and professional effort in scientific research and spend correspondingly less time in direct clinical practice with ratios of research to clinical time ranging from 50/50 to 80/20. Physician-scientists are often employed by academic or research institutions where they drive innovation across a wide range of medical specialties and may also use their extensive training to focus their clinical practices on specialized patient populations, such as those with rare genetic diseases or cancers. Although they are a minority of both practicing physicians and active research scientists, physician-scientists are often cited as playing a critical role in translational medicine and clinical research by adapting biomedical research findings to health care applications. Over time, the term physician scientist has expanded to holders of other clinical degrees—such as nurses, dentists, and veterinarians— who are also included by the United States National Institutes of Health in its studies of the physician-scientist workforce (PSW).

Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada (IMRIC) is a research institute affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Biomedical data science is a multidisciplinary field which leverages large volumes of data to promote biomedical innovation and discovery. Biomedical data science draws from various fields including Biostatistics, Biomedical informatics, and machine learning, with the goal of understanding biological and medical data. It can be viewed as the study and application of data science to solve biomedical problems. Modern biomedical datasets often have specific features which make their analyses difficult, including:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cohrs, Randall J.; Martin, Tyler; Ghahramani, Parviz; Bidaut, Luc; Higgins, Paul J.; Shahzad, Aamir (2014). "Translational Medicine definition by the European Society for Translational Medicine". New Horizons in Translational Medicine. 2 (3): 86–88. doi: 10.1016/j.nhtm.2014.12.002 (inactive 2024-05-07).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2024 (link)
  2. 1 2 Woolf, Steven H. (9 January 2008). "The Meaning of Translational Research and Why It Matters" (PDF). JAMA. 299 (2): 211–3. doi:10.1001/jama.2007.26. PMID   18182604. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "About NCATS - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences". National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
  4. ↑ "Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences". National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
  5. ↑ Pain, Elisabeth (17 August 2007). "European Programs Offer Translational Training". Science. 317 (5840): 968–9. doi:10.1126/science.caredit.a0700119. PMID   17702949.
  6. ↑ Blass, Ava (2007). "Online learning in translational medicine". BMJ. 335 (7620): s107. doi:10.1136/bmj.39286.715718.CE. S2CID   80475627.
  7. ↑ Pollack, Andrew (2010-05-17). "Grove Backs an Engineer's Approach to Medicine". Bits Blog. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  8. ↑ "Master of Translational Medicine – UC Berkeley - UCSF". uctranslationalmedicine.org.
  9. ↑ "Graduate PhD Program". Cedars-Sinai. Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Master in Translational Medicine-MSc - Master in Translational Medicine-MSc". www.ub.edu.
  11. ↑ ub (8 October 2009). "Universitat de Barcelona - Home". www.ub.edu.
  12. ↑ "Master in Translational Medicine-MSc - Master in Translational Medicine-MSc". www.ub.edu. Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Universitat de Barcelona - Facultat de Medicina". www.ub.edu. Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  14. 1 2 http://www.ccnymtm.org [ dead link ]
  15. ↑ http://translationalmedicine.nyc [ dead link ]
  16. ↑ "About". PhD in THS | GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  17. ↑ "Translational Medicine and Therapeutics MRes". www.ncl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20.
  18. ↑ "Translational Medicine | School of Graduate Studies". www.queensu.ca. Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Translational Health Sciences". www.uwindsor.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  20. ↑ "Tulane University - IGERT Bioinnovation PhD Program". tulane.edu.
  21. ↑ "Clinical Research and Translational Medicine (MS)". College of Public Health. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  22. ↑ "Zwei Master für den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs".
  23. ↑ "Transforming research into health solutions with a Translational Medicine master's degree". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  24. ↑ "Master of Science (MSc) Translational Medicine". www.perdanauniversity.edu.my. Retrieved Dec 21, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Professional Certification Course". European Society for Translational Medicine. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  26. ↑ "Advanced PG Diploma in Translational Medicine" . Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  27. ↑ Shahzad, Aamir; Cohrs, Randall J. (2015). "Abstracts: 3rd Annual Congress of the European Society for Translational Medicine (EUSTM-2015) 1–4 September, 2015, Vienna, Austria". New Horizons in Translational Medicine. 2 (6–7): 175–194. doi:10.1016/j.nhtm.2015.12.001 (inactive 2024-05-07).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2024 (link)
  28. ↑ "Abstracts: 5th Annual Congress of the European Society for Translational Medicine (EUSTM-2017), 20-22 October 2017, Berlin, Germany". New Horizons in Translational Medicine. 4 (1–4): 48–98. November 2017. doi:10.1016/j.nhtm.2017.11.001.
  29. ↑ "5th Annual European Conference On Clinical And Translational Sciences | EUSTM-2017" . Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  30. ↑ "2018 European Clinical Case Reports Congress" . Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  31. ↑ "6th Annual European Congress on Clinical & Translational Sciences" . Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
  32. ↑ "3rd Annual European Clinical Conference". 2019-09-19.
  33. ↑ "Welcome Note". eutranslationalmedicine.org/eustm-2020.
  34. ↑ "Fellowship (FAcadTM)". European Society for Translational Medicine. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.