Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/699375
BY TIFFANY PARNELL STUDIES POINT TO A FREQUENT DISCONNECT BE T WEEN THE PRIORITIES OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATORS AND PATIENT AND PHYSICIAN END USERS. ENGAGING PATIENTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN RESE ARCH PRIORITIZ ATION CAN ENHANCE STUDY RELE VANCE AND MAY E VEN SHORTEN THE TIME IT TAKES TO BRING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES FROM THE L ABOR ATORY TO THE BEDSIDE. in Setting Research Priorities IN THE UNITED STATE S, roughly $70 billion in commercial funding and $40 billion in governmental and nonprofi t funding is dedicated to biomedical and public health research each year, according to a 2014 study in The Lancet. However, the gap between the priorities of researchers and those of clinicians and patients may limit the impact of the research. A PATIENT-CENTRIC APPROACH Clinical investigators' objective of furthering the science in their respective disciplines doesn't always align with the goals of patients, who want better treatment options, and physicians, who often lack evidence on the outcomes that matter most to their patients. The burgeoning fi eld of translational science may play a role in ensuring research fi ndings are pertinent and e ectual. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health, defi nes translational science as "... the fi eld of investigation focused on understanding the scientifi c and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process." The goal of translational science is to turn new observations, discover- ies and interventions into health benefi ts, according to Petra Kaufmann, MD, MSc, Director of the O§ ce of Rare Diseases Research and Division of Clinical Innovation at NCATS. By ma king patients the center of resea rch endeavors, translational science may hold the key to streamlining patient recruitment, one of the most time-consuming elements of clinical research. If patients are included in discussions about protocols, for example, researchers can enhance participation by ensuring that joining a study is feasible for patients and won't overly burden their day-to-day lives, according to Dr. Kaufmann. Janine Farragher, a Vanier Scholar, occupational therapist and PhD candidate at the University of Toronto and a participant E XPANDING THE Role of Patients 2 6