Translational Medicine

Translational Medicine (TM) is the emerging field which focuses on using what is learned in pre-clinical studies to do smarter things in the clinic. Translational Medicine helps in the course of predicting, preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. Translational Medicine also uses what can be gleaned in clinical studies to sharpen and improve what is done in pre-clinical efforts to discover new medicines. Translational medicine represents a paradigm shift in the biomedical research enterprise.

Translational Medicine is a relatively young area of biomedicine, in which pharmaceutical companies use a patient driven approach to drug development. Translational medicine involves the transformation of laboratory findings into new ways to diagnose and treat patients. Many biotech companies are introducing Translational Medicine departments charged with the task of facilitating the transition of basic research into practical treatments and clinical trials. 

Robert Sackstein, MD, PhD
Interim Chair, Department of Translational Medicine, Dean and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, and Professor