Introduction to Translational Research: Connecting Scientists and Medical Doctors (FutureLearn)

Introduction to Translational Research: Connecting Scientists and Medical Doctors (FutureLearn)

Understand the emerging discipline of translational medicine and the process of taking research from ‘benchside’ to ‘bedside'. Translational medicine, also known as translational science or translational research, is a new, growing discipline in medicine that aims to ensure research flows from ‘benchside’ to ‘bedside’.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This means translating medical research findings into clinical treatment options, drug development and diagnostic tools, as well as bringing clinical difficulties back to the research bench for further development.
You will examine the steps from benchside (research) to bedside (clinical) - starting with identifying a disease and following on through drug development and preclinical trials.

What topics will you cover?

  • The basic principles of translational medicine
  • How translational medicine has a lot of potential
  • Basic knowledge of medical-related research, from drug-development, animal research, to clinical trial
  • How academic scientific research and clinical scientific research can collaborate together

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Describe the basic principle of translational medicine
  • Explore more topics related to translational medicine, including drug development, animal research, and clinical trials
  • Demonstrate how academic scientific research and clinical scientific research can collaborate together
  • Develop learning interests in the field of translational medicine
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Introduction to Good Clinical Practice (Coursera) Coursera
Novartis

Introduction to Good Clinical Practice (Coursera)

Welcome to 'Introduction to Good Clinical Practice'! This course is designed to introduce you to the basic principles and practices of Good Clinical Practice (GCP), which are essential for conducting clinical trials and ensuring the safety and well-being of human subjects. Whether you are new to the field or seeking to refresh your knowledge, this course and its coming sequel, 'Fundamentals of Good Clinical Practice' will equip you with the necessary skills and understanding to begin to navigate the complex world of clinical research.

Sep 28th 2026
3 Weeks
Case Studies in Personalized Medicine (Coursera) Coursera
Vanderbilt University

Case Studies in Personalized Medicine (Coursera)

Learn how advances in biomedicine hold the potential to revolutionize drug development, drug treatments, and disease prevention: where are we now, and what does the future hold? This course will present short primers in genetics and mechanisms underlying variability in drug responses. A series of case studies will be used to illustrate principles of how genetics are being brought to bear on refining diagnoses and on personalizing treatment in rare and common diseases. The ethical and operational issues around how to implement large scale genomic sequencing in clinical practice will be addressed.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leeds

Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research (FutureLearn)

On this free online course, find out how medical treatments are discovered, tested and evaluated to improve healthcare for all. Everything we do in healthcare has to be discovered and thoroughly tested before it can be put into practice. In this course you will explore clinical research – its challenges and its huge benefits to modern healthcare.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
Introduction to Randomised Controlled Trials (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Birmingham

Introduction to Randomised Controlled Trials (FutureLearn)

Discover the importance of trials in evidence-based medicine and learn about the trial lifecycle from conception to publication. Explore how successful clinical trials are designed and delivered Randomised controlled trials have a huge impact on society by providing evidence of the effectiveness of healthcare, social care, and public health interventions.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials (Coursera)

Clinical trials are experiments designed to evaluate new interventions to prevent or treat disease in humans. The interventions evaluated can be drugs, devices (e.g., hearing aid), surgeries, behavioral interventions (e.g., smoking cessation program), community health programs (e.g. cancer screening programs) or health delivery systems (e.g., special care units for hospital admissions). We consider clinical trials experiments because the investigators rather the patients or their doctors select the treatment the patients receive.

Sep 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Leadership for Cancer Informatics Research (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Leadership for Cancer Informatics Research (Coursera)

Informatics research often requires multidisciplinary teams. This requires more flexibility to communicate with team members with distinct backgrounds. Furthermore, team members often have different research and career goals. This can present unique challenges in making sure that everyone is on the same page and cohesively working together. This course aims to provide research leaders with guidance about: How to effectively lead and support team members on informatics projects; How to perform informatics projects well; How to support informatics collaborators, mentees, and employees; How to better support diversity within your team; Tools that can help you perform informatics projects well

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Fundamentals of Good Clinical Practice: Prep and Personnel (Coursera) Coursera
Novartis

Fundamentals of Good Clinical Practice: Prep and Personnel (Coursera)

Welcome to 'Fundamentals of Good Clinical Practice: Prep and Personnel'! This course is designed to introduce you to preparing for a clinical trial. This is Course Two in the Clinical Trial Teams series - the first course 'Introduction to Good Clinical Practice' provides background on what clinical trials are as well as the basic principles and practices of GCP. If you are new to the world of clinical research, we suggest starting your journey with Course One.

Sep 21st 2026
3 Weeks
Introduction to Translational Science (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Introduction to Translational Science (Coursera)

Translational science is the process of turning observations in the laboratory, clinic, and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and populations. In this course, you’ll learn about the role of translational research in moving scientific discoveries into applications for improving human health.

Jun 29th 2026
4 Weeks
Drug Commercialization (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Drug Commercialization (Coursera)

The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Commercialization course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug commercialization. This course will cover pharmacoeconomic, marketing strategy, intellectual property strategy, portfolio management, managed markets and strategic alliances. It will also have a lecture case study from startup to success.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks