The Arizona Arthritis Center (AAC) at the University of Arizona is pleased to announce  the successful completion of the first international certificate program in translational medicine, offered by the Eureka Institute for Translational Medicine in Siracusa Italy in late May.  Translational medicine is a continuum of activities that spans from identifying an idea to creating new therapies for human diseases. The field includes molecular medicine, intellectual property, knowledge of funding sources and regulatory agencies, and design of preclinical and clinical studies.

The objectives of this course were to analyze the business, scientific and regulatory aspects of translational medicine, to explore the challenges professionals encounter in the field, to develop critical thinking skills to approach the challenges in the field along with communication skills for presenting complex scientific ideas to a broad spectrum of people, to analyze effective manuscript preparation and begin to apply the concepts to their own work.

Fourteen leading academicians and industry representatives from North America and Europe served as faculty, and 20 participants from nine different countries attended the course. The AAC provided conceptual and practical support.  Among the faculty were three professors from the University of Arizona.

Assessment of the program by the participants was very positive.  Eureka plans to repeat the course May 16 - May 22, 2010.

For more information about the Arizona Arthritis Center (http://www.arthritis.arizona.edu/) or the Eureka Institute for Translational Medicine (http://eurekainstitute.org/), visit their websites  or call (520)-626-7902.