Bridging the translation gap and building the translation platform: translational medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Translational medicine is a fashionable term describing the inclination of basic science and clinical researchers to ultimately help patients through facilitating the incorporation of basic research findings into clinical practice. The development of translational medicine in recent years has been rapid—focusing on a new medical research model advocating “patient-centered” clinical work. Starting with clinical questions regarding patient problems, conducting basic research, and then turning the results of basic research quickly into clinical applications to improve clinical care is the heart of this new model. In this article, we examine the incorporation of and experience with translational medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) in Beijing, China.