{"id":366,"date":"2015-07-15T14:03:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T21:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/dont-get-lost-in-translation-advises-speaker-in-deans-distinguished-lecturer-series\/"},"modified":"2023-11-19T12:05:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T20:05:50","slug":"dont-get-lost-in-translation-advises-speaker-in-deans-distinguished-lecturer-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/dont-get-lost-in-translation-advises-speaker-in-deans-distinguished-lecturer-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t get lost in translation, advises speaker in Dean\u2019s Distinguished Lecturer Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Don\u2019t get lost in translation, advises speaker in Dean\u2019s Distinguished Lecturer Series<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n Hope Hamashige<\/span>\n \n July 15, 2015<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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Christopher Austin of NCATS speaks about translational science during the Dean's Distinguished Lecturer Series on July 9.<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Translating scientific discovery to practical benefit is a difficult challenge, and Christopher Austin, MD, director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), thinks sickle cell disease is a prime example.
\nAlthough the molecular and genetic defect that causes sickle cell disease was discovered in 1949, six decades have passed and yet no treatment for the disease exists. This gap between knowing what makes people sick and finding effective treatments was a primary focus of Austin\u2019s July 9 presentation in Aresty Auditorium as part of the Dean\u2019s Distinguished Lecturer Series.
\n\u201cTranslational science is poorly done,\u201d said Austin in describing how translational science seeks to take research discoveries and develop and test them for clinical uses. \u201cIt is costly, time-consuming and inefficient.\u201d
\nThe process of translational science faces hurdles at every stage, said Austin, which is why the National Institutes of Health established NCATS in 2002. During his speech, Austin shared some of the ways that NCATS attempts to make translational science quicker, more effective and less costly:<\/p>\n