Translational research in biomedicine

Nowadays, in health science, it is common to speak of translational research, even though the term does not mean exactly the same for the whole scientific community. However, it is fair to say that the literature has established a few definitions in recent years. If research into health is viewed as a continuous process, then two translational blocks can be identified: the first enables us to carry out the transfer of basic biomedical research (that is to say, the knowledge acquired in the laboratory of the mechanisms of disease and the development of methods for their diagnosis, treatment and prevention, as well as the first studies in humans) to clinical science and knowledge. The second facilitates the transfer of the new knowledge from clinical research to decision-making in health and, therefore, seeks to guarantee that the new treatments and knowledge from the research really do reach those patients or areas of society at whom they are aimed, and that they should be applied correctly, thereby achieving an improvement in health.