With the passage of health care reform, the research community is ready to shift the national health policy conversation to a new dialogue on enhancing biomedical research and scientific innovation. In the past few weeks, discussion on topics such as the need to improve the translation of research discoveries into better health outcomes and the research ROI for improving the nation's overall health have gained traction alongside continued analysis of the final health reform provisions.
At the recent Research!America National Forum, experts from across the government, industry, academia and patient advocacy sectors discussed priorities to speed translational research, improve health outcomes and ultimately, as panelist Dr. Robert Tijian, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute put it, identify new pathways to "move beyond therapeutics and treatment to prevention." Yet transformation of this level requires a deep commitment to enhancing cross stakeholder collaborations and sustained communication, a challenge with so many players involved in the research process.
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