Teaming up for better health

Rahel Kubik, member of the executive board of Kantonsspital Baden and head of the Institute of Radiology, Monika Jänicke, CEO of the University Hospital Zurich and Christian Wolfrum, Vice President for Research at ETH Zurich. (f.l.t.r.) (Photograph: Kantonspital Baden, Universitätsspital Zurich, ETH Zurich / Montage ETH Zurich) What's the best way to translate research findings into clinical practice? A discussion with Monika Jänicke, CEO of the University Hospital Zurich, Rahel Kubik, head of radiology at Kantonsspital Baden, and Christian Wolfrum, VP for Research at ETH Zurich. Research translation has been a hot topic in the headlines in recent years. What's the best and fastest way to transfer the results of basic research into clinical practice? - Rahel Kubik: It's really important that any new method developed by researchers should address an existing challenge in clinical care. Costs in the healthcare sector are skyrocketing, so we need to ensure that research translation generates an actual benefit - and that means identifying genuine needs. But the success of a translation project also depends on the various professional groups involved: doctors, basic researchers and nursing staff all need to share a common language and have a bond of familiarity and trust. Research translation can be a long, hard road - so you need to make it a shared journey.