Translational bioinformatics has now come of age: TBC 2012 collection

Abstract

Translational bioinformatics is a rapidly emerging field of biomedical data sciences and informatics technologies that efficiently translate basic molecular, genetic, cellular, and clinical data into clinical products or health implications. Translational bioinformatics is now even more powerful than ever. The revolutionary progress in both bioinformatics and high-throughput genomics based on the flood of nucleotide sequences and microarray data will eventually transform the current practice of medicine forever, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and prognostics. Translational research is a paradigm for an alternative research approach to the dichotomy of basic and applied research. Its cross-disciplinary nature is a serious challenge caused by the compartmentalization of the current research training paradigm. Moreover, bioinformatics itself is interdisciplinary. To understand and correctly address the clinical needs for ultimately improving human health requires strategically-minded scientists, multi-skilled teams, and knowledge-driven data infrastructure for integrative analytics. Despite the barriers, linking the molecular world to the clinical world and vice versa will enormously benefit human health. Since its inception, the Translational Bioinformatics Conference (TBC) aims to highlight the multi-disciplinary nature of the research field and provides an opportunity to bring together and exchange ideas between international translational bioinformatics researchers. The Second Annual TBC 2012 in Jeju Island of South Korea provided the opportunity to substantially improve the understanding of complex and rare diseases and proposed new ways of approaching basic health problems by integrating genomic and clinical data.