van Dijk Sabine J, Domenighetti Andrea A, Gomez-Ospina Natalia, Hunter Patricia, Lindemans Caroline A, Melotte Veerle, van Rossum Annemarie M C, Rosenblum Norman D
Department of Pharmacology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, United States.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2019 Jul 3;6:151. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2019.00151. eCollection 2019.
Biomedical scientists aim to contribute to further understanding of disease pathogenesis and to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools that relieve disease burden. Yet the majority of biomedical scientists do not develop their academic career or professional identity as "translational scientists," and are not actively involved in the continuum from scientific concept to development of new strategies that change medical practice. The collaborative nature of translational medicine and the lengthy process of bringing innovative findings from bench to bedside conflict with established pathways of building a career in academia. This collaborative approach also poses a problem for evaluating individual contributions and progress. The traditional evaluation of scientific success measured by the impact and number of publications and grants scientists achieve is inadequate when the product is a team effort that may take decades to complete. Further, where scientists are trained to be independent thinkers and to establish unique scientific niches, translational medicine depends on combining individual insights and strengths for the greater good. Training programs that are specifically geared to prepare scientists for a career in translational medicine are not widespread. In addition, the legal, regulatory, scientific and clinical infrastructure and support required for translational research is often underdeveloped in academic institutions and funding organizations, further discouraging the development and success of translational scientists in the academic setting. In this perspective we discuss challenges and potential solutions that could allow for physicians, physician scientists and basic scientists to develop a professional identity and a fruitful career in translational medicine.
生物医学科学家旨在促进对疾病发病机制的进一步理解，并开发减轻疾病负担的新诊断和治疗工具。然而，大多数生物医学科学家并未将自己的学术生涯或职业身份发展为“转化科学家”，也未积极参与从科学概念到改变医疗实践的新策略开发的整个过程。转化医学的协作性质以及将创新发现从实验室带到临床的漫长过程，与学术界既定的职业发展路径相冲突。这种协作方法也给评估个人贡献和进展带来了问题。当成果是团队努力且可能需要数十年才能完成时，以科学家所取得的出版物和资助的影响力及数量来衡量科学成功的传统评估方法就不够了。此外，科学家们被培养成独立思考者并建立独特的科学领域，而转化医学则依赖于为了更大的利益而整合个人见解和优势。专门为让科学家为转化医学职业做准备而设计的培训项目并不普遍。此外，转化研究所需的法律、监管、科学和临床基础设施及支持在学术机构和资助组织中往往发展不足，这进一步阻碍了转化科学家在学术环境中的发展和成功。在这篇观点文章中，我们讨论了一些挑战和潜在的解决方案，这些方案可以让医生、医生科学家和基础科学家在转化医学领域发展职业身份并拥有富有成果的职业生涯。
