Translating translational biomedicine for environmental health.

摘要

"What's in a name?" Shakespeare famously wrote. During our recent experience in conceptualizing and creating a new Office of Translational Biomedicine at the NIEHS, we have learned that the answer, often, is "quite a lot," and perhaps necessarily so. The problem in this instance arises from the use of the term "translational." This term has come to represent an area of biomedical research that, although full of promise, defies easy definition. Although variations of "translational medicine" and "translational research" are widely used to identify scientific programs in both public and private organizations, when asked what the term means, even many would-be practitioners might respond with some version of the "I know it when I see it" explanation. But it may be broadly described as using knowledge gained at the bench of basic research-a mechanistic understanding of disease-to improve clinical applications at the "bedside" or enhance disease prevention in the community. Our initial view was that the useof the term "translational" to describe this area of biomedical research is misleading, as the word carries many connotations, and is essentially inaccurate. However, this view is debatable.