What is Translational Science?

Translation is the process of turning observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public — from diagnostics and therapeutics to medical procedures and behavioral changes.

Translational Science is the field that generates scientific and operational innovations that overcome longstanding challenges along the translational research pipeline. These include scientific, operational, financial and administrative innovations that transform the way that research is done, making it faster, more efficient, and more impactful.

View the NCATS Translational Science Principles that characterize effective translational science approaches.

View the NCATS Translational Science Spectrum that shows the stages of translational research.

Translational Research Translational Science
What are the goals? To improve human health To improve the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of Translational Research by identifying and overcoming common causes of inefficiency and failure.
How are those goals achieved? By asking research questions which move discoveries forward along a spectrum of application:
• T0: Basic Science
• T1: Translation to Humans
• T2: Translation to Patients
• T3: Translation to Practice
• T4: Translation to Populations		 By accomplishing the following:
• Understanding common causes of inefficiency and failure in Translational Research projects
• Identifying barriers to the advancement of research across the translational spectrum
• Developing a product or approach that overcomes or mitigates that barrier, and is generalizable across multiple diseases/conditions
What is its focus? A specific condition, target, or disease. The barriers and inefficiencies which prevent Translational Research into specific conditions and diseases.
What are the results? A health science advancement moves forward on the Translational Research spectrum and impacts practice, policy, and health. A method of overcoming a problem common to Translational Researchers is identified or developed.
Who is affected by the outcomes? • Researchers interested in the specific target or condition being studied
• Patients affected by the specific target or condition and their caregivers
• Clinicians and policy makers		  • All Translational Researchers, regardless of area of interest
• Everyone who enables, facilitates or supports Translational Research, including those involved in science leadership, management, and administration, and patient and community engagement

Examples of Translational Science Projects

An investigator wishes to test whether a particular drug improves outcomes in diabetes; this is a translational research (TR) problem to be addressed using established recruitment methods. By contrast, an investigator wishes to test a particular diabetes drug, while also examining the underlying barriers to recruit participants and aims to test if new recruitment methods are more effective and generalizable to various drug trials; this is a translational science (TS) problem.

An investigator may wish to understand barriers to participation in clinical research among people in a specific population. They propose to interview individuals in this population to identify barriers to participation in clinical research that would apply across clinical research studies. They conduct qualitative analyses and prepare and disseminate preliminary guidelines for increasing participation among people in this population.

Samples of Translational Science Roadblocks

Clinical Trial Operational Efficiency

  • Clinical trials not completed on time or budget
  • Clinical trial design (e.g. patient-centric considerations)

Data Management and Utilization

  • Using Electronic Health Record data for research
  • Challenges to data acquisition, integrity, and analysis

Recruitment and Retention

Failure/inability to recruit & retain the number of participants required for studies

Patient and Community Engagement

Lack of involvement for ongoing patient/community engagement in the development and implementation of new health interventions

Other Resources

Videos

Case Studies in Translational Science
Video playlist from National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) discusses how the Translational Science principles shaped research in three different 3 case studies.

Translational Science Explained: Easy as Pie!
University of Rochester CTSI Director of Research Education Alfred Vitale, Ph.D., has a helpful pie-based analogy to briefly explain translational science.

Articles

Austin CP. Opportunities and challenges in translational science. Clin Transl Sci. 2021 Sep;14(5):1629-1647. doi: 10.1111/cts.13055. Epub 2021 Jul 8. PMID: 33982407; PMCID: PMC8504824.

Gilliland CT, White J, Gee B, Kreeftmeijer-Vegter R, Bietrix F, Ussi AE, Hajduch M, Kocis P, Chiba N, Hirasawa R, Suematsu M, Bryans J, Newman S, Hall MD, Austin CP. The Fundamental Characteristics of a Translational Scientist. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2019 May 2;2(3):213-216. doi: 10.1021/acsptsci.9b00022. PMID: 32259057; PMCID: PMC7088880

Austin, CP. Translating translation. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 2018 Apr;17(455-456). doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2018.27.