Translational Research

“Translational research” is research that can be migrated (or translated) from the research lab to the clinic. It’s one thing to identify a candidate biomarker in a research setting, and quite another to use it prospectively on patients.

Naturally, translational research imposes certain restrictions, and reagents or approaches that are unlikely to win regulatory approval down the line are generally avoided. For instance, researchers in a lab might use optical modalities (fluorescence and luminescence) to perform whole-body scans of mice, but those with translational goals might opt for small animal versions of PET, CT and MRI instead.

Similarly, stem cell researchers in the lab may be perfectly content to culture human embryonic stem cells on mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder cells in the presence of bovine serum, but those developing cell therapies typically opt for fully defined, xenobiotic-free culture conditions.

Patient safety, of course, is paramount in translational research, especially in drug discovery, so consider testing early. Cardiac safety screening services can test for negative effects on heart tissue long before clinical trials get underway.