Translational Medical Education and Research : Sri Ramachandra University Initiatives

Translational medicine is a branch of medical research that attempts to more directly connect basic research to patient care. Translational medicine is growing in importance in the healthcare industry. In the case of drug discovery and development, translational medicine typically refers to the “translation” of basic research into real therapies for real patients. The emphasis is on the linkage between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside, without a real disconnect. This is often called the “bench to bedside” definition. Translational medicine can also have a much broader definition, referring to the development and application of new technologies including therapeutics in a patient driven environment where the emphasis is on early patient testing , evaluation and management . Translational Medicine encompasses (a)Basic science studies which define the biological effects of therapeutics in humans (b)Investigations in humans which define the biology of disease and provide the scientific foundation for development of new or improved therapies for human disease (c)Non-human or non-clinical studies conducted with the intent to advance therapies to the clinic or to develop principles for application of therapeutics to human disease (d)Any clinical trial of a therapy that was initiated based on (a) to (c) with any endpoint including toxicity and/or efficacy.(e) Appropriate product development for clinical use in various stages of investigational clinical trial before initiating Phase III trials as required by the regulators and (f) The adoption of best practices that lead to greater understanding of the link between medical learning (how one acquires and applies relevant attitudes, knowledge and skills in medicine) and patient outcomes via real-world clinical decision-making and other physician actions. The requirements of Translational education & research are (i) Academic setup with components of Clinical and translational Science (ii) Institutional culture and commitment for Clinical and Translational science (iii) Education, training and Career development opportunities (iv) Clinical research Informatics (v) Intra and Inter Institutional Collaboration and (vi) appropriate manpower with the capacity to envisage the whole process from “bench to bedside” to be generated by due educational program. Sri Ramachandra University has conceived a M.Sc in Translational Medicine and a Post graduate Fellowship in Translational Health sciences for consideration of support by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. To promote Translational research, a Central Research Facility has been created for intra institutional collaboration and multi-investigator cum interdepartmental research projects. InstituteIndustry collaboration has also been strengthened for drug discovery program and/or clinical trials.