translational research

noun

: medical research that is concerned with facilitating the practical application of scientific discoveries to the development and implementation of new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease

called also translational medicine

Examples of translational research in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While states are generally inclined to fund more clinical and translational research, which would have more immediate payoffs for taxpayers, the plan also specifically calls for funding basic research that seeds clinical discoveries. —Anil Oza, STAT, 20 Feb. 2026

Because adipose tissue is abundant and easily accessible, the approach may accelerate translational research in regenerative medicine. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 1 Jan. 2026

The first hub—the HELIX 1 building, adjacent to Nokia Bell Labs’ new headquarters—is expected to open next year and include Rutgers’s medical school and translational research institute. —IEEE Spectrum, 14 Oct. 2025

The group sat by an expansive window overlooking the translational research building for Erlangen’s CAR-T projects. —Byjennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 14 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for translational research

• birch
• lurch
• perch
• search
• interchurch
• recherche

Medical Definition

translational research

noun

variants or translational medicine

: medical research that is concerned with facilitating the practical application of scientific discoveries to the development and implementation of new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease

… a new emphasis on translational research to improve the movement of new discoveries from the bench to the bedside.

—The Kansas City Business Journal

And the area of science in which a therapy is advanced from a good idea to animal studies to testing in humans even has a name: translational medicine.

—Delthia Ricks, Newsday