Mario Romano
Translational research has tremendous potential as a tool to reduce health disparities in the United States, but a lack of common understanding about the scope of this dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to research has limited its use. The term “translational research” is often associated with the phrase “bench to bedside,” but the expedited movement of biomedical advances from the laboratory to clinical trials is only the first phase of the translational process. In the field of health research, “translation” is the process through which breakthroughs in science are used to improve human health. Unfortunately, many people in both the public and professional spheres perceive translational research simply as a linkage of biomedical and clinical research that expedites the transfer of scientific innovations from laboratories to clinical trials. Addressing the real-world issues that fall under the domain of phase 2 research translation is vital to eliminate health disparities because most of the intergroup variance in reductions in morbidity and mortality that can be attributed to newly developed treatments relates to the delivery of interventions at the providerpatient level, rather than differential pharmacodynamic effects of the treatments themselves. The health disparities model illustrates the perpetual flow of interdisciplinary collaboration that arises from the use of advances in biomedicine to reduce health disparities.
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