A decade plus of translation: what do we understand?

It has been more than a decade that the term "Translational" (medicine, Research, Science) has trickled through the minds of academics, clinicians, business persons, regulators, policy makers, patients and their families, patient advocates, politicians and the public. Although the term means different things for different stake holders, it reflect and eagerness to see a fruitful outcome of the resources invested in biotechnology to benefit primarily the patients but also provide financial return for those who invested. Skeptics remain who feel the concept if abused by those attempting to deviate funds for basic or clinical research to a new domain performing similar tasks under a different egida. In reality, translational sciences are not different in scope any from previous efforts to focus the goals of research toward the relevant object of helping the disabled. The difference is that, in recent decades, awareness has risen about the difficulties of reaching this goal. In particular, it has become clear that the difficulties are not limited to scientific challenges, but to a myriad of hurdles that make testing and licensing of novel concepts unnecessarily burdensome. Moreover, it was recognized that the infrastructure to support clinical research is frequently outdated and inappropriate. The biggest hurdle, however, remains the cost and the length of clinical testing that could prolong of decades the application of even the most successful treatments. As for any expanding field, a plethora of journals has appeared with "Translational" in their title. This is a positive sign of the growth in interest for the field and the need to respond to a need for editorial boards competent in the challenges of judging clinical testing. In this editorial, we will discuss the meaning of translational medicine, its goals and needs; we will summarize the remaining challenges and will provide a personal overview of the strategies that remain to be implemented.