Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY.
J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2022 Jan 1;34(1):113-115. doi: 10.1097/ANA.0000000000000807.
Translational science seeks to accelerate the multi-step process by which scientific discoveries are transformed into therapies that can improve the health of individuals and their communities. To facilitate crossing the traditional boundaries between basic and clinical research for instance, a systematic understanding of the scientific and operational principles that underlie each step of the translational cycle is developed to identify and address barriers to translation. Skills required by translational scientists, such as being systems thinkers and process innovators, overlap with those of anesthesiologists, and therefore, it is no surprise that anesthesiologists have contributed to this field. Indeed, the safety and efficacy of anesthesia care has greatly evolved over many decades because anesthesiologists have recognized the importance of readily incorporating physiological and pharmacological basic research findings into clinical practice. This article highlights the characteristics that make anesthesiologists well suited to be translational scientists. We also discuss one example of anesthesiology contributing to the field of translational science during the COVID-19 pandemic. We show that anesthesiologists, regardless of their specific clinical or research interests, have the skill set to become effective and critical players in the field of translational science and emphasize the importance of continued leadership in this field to academic anesthesiology.
转化科学旨在加速科学发现转化为治疗方法的多步骤过程，从而改善个体及其社区的健康。例如，为了促进跨越基础研究和临床研究之间的传统界限，需要系统地了解转化周期每个步骤所依据的科学和操作原则，以识别和解决转化障碍。转化科学家所需的技能，例如系统思考者和流程创新者，与麻醉师的技能重叠，因此，麻醉师为这个领域做出贡献也就不足为奇了。事实上，由于麻醉师认识到将生理学和药理学基础研究成果迅速纳入临床实践的重要性，麻醉护理的安全性和有效性在许多几十年中得到了极大的发展。本文强调了使麻醉师成为转化科学家的特点。我们还讨论了在 COVID-19 大流行期间麻醉学为转化科学领域做出贡献的一个例子。我们表明，无论麻醉师的具体临床或研究兴趣如何，他们都具备成为转化科学领域有效和关键参与者的技能，并强调在这个领域继续领导的重要性，以支持学术麻醉学。
