The goal of biomedical research is to move healthcare innovations, like evidence-based programs and interventions, to places where patients can access them for their benefit. But there are often challenges to making this happen. One study estimates that less than half of clinical innovations make it into routine practice. This can be due to the time it takes to translate research into practice, a lack of training on the part of researchers about how to move their work closer to patient care, and because often the setting researchers use doesn't reflect the real-world settings where innovations would be delivered. Luckily, there's a special area of research designed to help improve this process called Implementation Science.  

In this episode of Science Never Sleeps, we're joined by Dr. Caitlin Allen, an assistant professor in the Public Health Science Department in the MUSC College of Medicine. Dr. Allen is a social and behavioral scientist with expertise in the implementation of evidence-based research to advance precision public health initiatives. Her overarching research goal is to support the translation of genomics applications to maximize population health impact and improve health equity. Dr. Allen is also a 2024 MUSC Developing Scholar Award recipient.  

Episode Links:

Building trust and saving lives: A community approach to genetic education