Lost in Translation
Facing Up to Translational Research
- From the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to James Levine, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st St., SW, Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail: jim{at}mayo.edu
In the business world (which inches ever closer to the scientific world), terms such as “think out of the box” and “paradigm shift” are so in vogue that they are out of fashion. After all, the only people who actually think in boxes are the dead, and since the word “paradigm” does not mean anything, the term “paradigm shift” is just as meaningful (another corporatism) as “sausage shift.” Currently, in science, we have our own buzz word, “translational research.” Whichever academic center you visit and whatever despairing grant review panel you sit on, I guarantee that the term “translational research” will surface. In fact, I bet that somewhere on earth at every second of every day, somebody somewhere is using the term “translational research” because they are tacitly aware of the fact that a paradigm shift is upon us and that there is an urgent need to think out of the box and reinvent our corporate culture—as scientists.
What is translational research? Can I …
