What is Clinical and Translational Research?

Clinical research is defined by the NIH as

1. Patient-oriented research.  Research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects.  Patient-oriented research includes:
   • mechanisms of human disease,
   • therapeutic interventions,
   • clinical trials, or
   • development of new technologies.
2. Epidemiological and behavioral studies.
3. Outcomes research and health services research.

 Translational research is defined by NIH as

1. The process of applying discoveries generated during basic research in the laboratory, and in preclinical studies, to the development of trials and studies in humans.
2. Research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community.  Cost-effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies is an important part of translational science.