The emergence of personalized medicine and molecular targeted therapy has initiated major changes in the way medical treatments are administered, regulated and developed by industry and academia. Arising from these changes has been the recognition for the need of structures which are able to develop and deliver companion diagnostics and identify novel drug targets. These structures need to have academic and hospital involvement because of the clinical samples, data and expertise involved. Moreover, these structures will be ideally linked to state-of-the-art instrumentation to enable discovery and diagnostic delivery, and the experience to manage the resources and direct the developments.

Translational Research is the systematic movement of research findings into the development of innovative interventions, practices, and policies that may ultimately improve health and well-being, and also the use of knowledge derived from interventions, practices, and policies to inform research. We envision a bi-directional pathway between scientific research and community practice, bridging these two realms in more effective ways. Insights into the molecular and cellular basis of disease have been generated at an unprecedented pace in recent years, and the remaining challenge is to translate these basic research insights into clinical advances.