EditorialPromoting Physiology as an Essential Element in Translational ResearchJoey P. Granger, Susan M. Barman, and Kim E. BarrettJoey P. Granger, Susan M. Barman, and Kim E. BarrettPublished Online:01 Dec 2012https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00045.2012MoreSectionsPDF (39 KB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailWeChat The overall mission of the American Physiological Society (APS) is to promote the discipline of physiology and thereby enhance human and animal health by disseminating research discoveries, facilitating research and scientific interaction, educating the public, and enabling future generations of physiologists. The goal of enhancing human and animal health is a laudable goal, but it can only be achieved by translating new scientific knowledge at the bench to drug discovery and improved patient care and patient outcomes.The importance of translational research within physiological organizations and the worldwide scientific community continues to grow. This is apparent in the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Roadmap and also in the recent creation of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), whose mission is to promote the generation of innovative methods and technology that will enhance the development, testing, and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. Although this can only be accomplished by the synergistic interaction of scientists from many disciplines, physiologists are pivotal to this important objective. Physiologists have traditionally served as critical bridges between basic research and human medicine because of their breath of scientific approaches. These include experiments utilizing in vitro and in vivo models (human and nonhuman), studies at the molecular, cellular, whole organ, and integrative level, and computer simulations of complex physiological processes. Furthermore, many physiologists also take advantage of a wide array of complementary tools from various disciplines such as genetics, molecular biology, immunology, pharmacology, and systems biology to obtain a greater understanding of normal function and pathophysiology. Moreover, since drug development almost invariably requires preclinical animal models, physiologists are best prepared to develop and phenotype these models.Because of the growing significance of translational research for national and international biomedical research funding agencies, it is critical that physiological organizations worldwide mobilize their members to advocate for physiology as an essential element in translational research. Physiologists should be encouraged to engage decision makers at their home institutions and at national funding agencies, reminding them of the importance of physiology not only in medical research but also in medical education.Although APS has made efforts in promoting physiology as vital for medical research and education, more needs to be done. Indeed, APS has recently reinvigorated our Translational Physiology Interest Group to facilitate the membership's interest in translational research. There is also increased interaction between APS and organizations such as the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR), the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM), and many other clinical societies.There is a concerted effort by APS to increase the representation of clinician-scientists within APS's membership, journals, and meeting programs. There is also discussion of creating an APS-branded fall translational meeting. This meeting could position APS at the forefront of translational research and help the Society to promote the critical links between physiology and translational medicine.To highlight the importance of physiology in medicine, our Society's Physiology InFocus symposia series at Experimental Biology (EB) for the last several years has highlighted how physiology plays a critical role in linking scientific discoveries at a molecular, cellular, whole organ, and integrative level to drug discovery and improved patient care.The overarching theme for the President's Symposia (formerly Physiology InFocus) at EB 2013, which was organized by APS President Sue Barman, is From Animals to Human Models of Disease. Symposia will include the translational topics of eating disorders, cystic fibrosis, and irritable bowel syndrome. All of these are clinical conditions for which treatments are imperfect at best and which urgently need new understandings and insights to devise new therapies.Since the founding of APS in 1887, its members have generated a large body of physiological knowledge. As pointed out in recent Physiology editorials by Ulrich Pohl (2) and Michael Joyner (1), physiologists have long been critical links between basic research and human medicine, and many physiologists worldwide have been among the laureates who have received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. This prize was established in 1895 to recognize scientists “who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine.” To highlight the fact that there is a Nobel Prize devoted to physiology and to further emphasize the importance of physiology in medicine, our Society has recently instituted the APS Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Lecture as the closing plenary lecture of the EB meeting. The inaugural APS Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Lecture was presented by Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies before a packed audience at the EB 2012 meeting in San Diego. The 2013 lecture will be presented by Linda B. Buck (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), the 2004 Nobel Prize winner for research on olfactory receptors that opened the door to understanding genetic and molecular mechanisms of olfaction.In closing, we would like to welcome the new editor of Physiology, Gary Sieck, and thank him and the editorial board for inviting us to contribute an editorial piece to the journal. We also appreciate and commend Walter Boron for his exemplary service as founding editor-in-chief of Physiology. During his 9 years of service, Walter and his international editorial team of physiologists transformed the former News in Physiological Sciences into a premier review journal for our discipline.