Scientific Foundations of Clinical Practice : An Issue of Pediatric Clinics - Pt. 1

In the last decade, the delineation of the human genome and the development of high throughput genomics and proteomics have transformed the practice of Pediatrics.

The study of normal childhood growth and development, and pediatric diseases now focuses on the delineation of normal and abnormal gene expression, resultant cellular and organ responses, and the modification of such interactions by an increasing number of environmental factors.

This is the first of two issues of the Pediatric Clinics of North America that provides an overview of the rapidly developing field of Pediatric Translational Medicine.

New knowledge of basic molecular and developmental physiology and pathophysiology is rapidly being 'translated' into new diagnostics and therapeutics for the practicing pediatrician.

Rapid molecular diagnostics based on the identification of new disease genes, recognition of unique disease phenotypes at the cellular level, and the development of new therapeutic approaches based on pharmacogenomic profiling suggest that 'individualized medicine' will soon be a possibility for every child. Combined with similar advances in epidemiology, bioinformatics, and population-based studies, "Pediatric Translational Medicine" will rapidly move from the laboratory bench to the patient bedside.

These issues of the PCNA will be of value to all members of the pediatric health care delivery team, which now includes basic and clinical investigators.

Further, it will provide students at all levels with a sense of the excitement which awaits their future development as tomorrow's Physician-Scientists.