Advancing Clinical and Translational Science

The vision for the 2015–2020 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) strategic plan is that ASCPT’s influence and leadership make it the authority on the science and practice of translational medicine, building on a foundation of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (http://www.ascpt.org/About-ASCPT/ASCPT-StrategicPlan). The vision for Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) is well-suited for ASCPT.1 Our vision is to become the beacon and organizing principle for the field of translational medicine, as well as to provide a vehicle for ASCPT member publications. The ASCPT definition of translational medicine1 serves as a framework for the CTS strategy. In brief, “From ASCPT’s perspective, translational medicine is a multi-faceted discipline with a focus on translational therapeutics. In a broad sense, translational medicine bridges across the discovery, development, regulation, and utilization spectrum. For clinical pharmacology, the focus of translational research is on the discovery, development, regulation and use of pharmacologic agents to improve clinical outcome, and inform optimal use of therapeutics in patients.” With this translational medicine definition in mind, CTS has concluded its first year of publication as an official journal of ASCPT with many accomplishments. By the numbers, CTS published six issues in 2016, which included two editorials, two commentaries, five reviews, 28 original research articles, two tutorials, and one phase forward article. In addition, the CTS blog, Translational Bytes, posted 20 blog entries, most related to content published in CTS. By all measures, these numbers constitute a successful first year. One particular accomplishment is the beginning of a series of tutorial publications.2 CTS tutorials are meant to address the general increasing concern over the lack of reproducibility of biomedical research results as well as an overall paucity of education and training on translational medicine topics. The tutorials are dedicated to relevant topics in the broad field of clinical pharmacology and translational medicine according to the scope of CTS. Tutorials provide best practices, education, training, and perspective, with an emphasis on practical advice. The debut tutorial by Arwood et al.3 outlined a practical framework for implementing pharmacogenetic testing in the clinic, which should prove useful as precision medicine and pharmacogenetic testing increasingly penetrate general clinical care. Tutorials will become a regular feature in CTS and we welcome your suggestions and contributions. In 2016 we also introduced two new, impactful members to the editorial team. Our Chief Science Advisor is