UPDATE (5/20/26 @ 7:30am AZ time):
The GCU Library's updated version of LopeCat, the library’s online catalog, is live! For more details on what has changed, visit the What's New Guide .
Nursing & Health Sciences: Translational Research
What is Translational Research?
The application of discoveries generated by laboratory research and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials and studies in humans. A second area of translational research concerns enhancing the adoption of best practices. (Definition from PubMed)
Below are a few articles to help with understanding translational research and the different types.
Searching For Translational Medical Research
One effective way to search for translational research articles is using PubMed's Medical Subject Headings search (MeSH). This is more precise than a general keyword search as it relies on PubMed's defined terms rather than the wording of individual authors.
The MeSH search string for translational research is:
"Translational Research, Biomedical"[MeSH]
Make sure to enter it exactly, including the "" quote marks and [brackets].
You can also add additional keywords using PubMed's advanced search or use the article limits that appear after a search.
We recommend choosing Text availability: Full Text, and Publication Date: 5 years.
Choose 'additional filters' and then 'species' and 'human'.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowPubMed is a free database of more than 30 million citations for published articles in the fields of biomedicine and health. PubMed includes the MEDLINE® database; citations for articles in the PubMed Central (PMC) free full text archive, including articles that report on research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and citations for books from the NCBI online Bookshelf. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central, publisher websites, and the Library's subscriptions.
You will need to make sure you are using PubMed while linked to GCU to have access to full text or interlibrary loan appear.
Ensure you are entering from the library link above, or are logged into a My NCBI account with GCU set in your preferences. This will ensure you see a link to GCU's full text or to the Tipasa interlibrary loan system, where you can request articles not currently available. See below for detailed instructions on setting up My NCBI.
Personal Accounts: This account is completely separate from your GCU login. When logged into your personal account, you can:
- Save and retrieve your search history
- Create email alerts
- Save searches and articles
- Organize your research with folders
- Save preferences
- Email and export saved citations
Creating a personal account in PubMed
- Click on the "Login" link found in the upper right corner of the PubMed search page.
- Click "New here? Sign up" if you do not have any of the offered account types already.
Note: If you have a Google account, you may want to use this for ease of access.
- Fill out the registration form and click Create Account. This will create your account and sign you in. However, some NCBI features are not available to you until you confirm your email address. Check your email for a message from NCBI with a link to confirm your email address.
Linking the Outside Tool to GCU
To set the Outside Tool, which enables links to GCU's full text sources and the interlibrary loan system Tipasa, follow these steps:
- Log in to your My NCBI account.
- Click 'NCBI Site Preferences' on the menu near the top of the page.
- On the list of options, locate and click on 'Outside Tool'.
- Click the 'G' on the alphabet at the top and then locate Grand Canyon University in the list. Click the radio button to select.
- Click 'Save' at the bottom.
Select Journals on Translational Research
Not sure on a topic? You can browse through the translational research focused journals below.
- American Journal of Translational Research This link opens in a new windowAmerican Journal of Translational Research is an open access online journal dedicated to publication of original work and review articles of translational research in medicine.
- Clinical and Translational Medicine This link opens in a new windowThe journal provides a forum for the exchange of ideas between basic and clinical scientists on molecular and cellular mechanisms of disease and potential therapies.
- Journal of Translational Medicine This link opens in a new windowJournal of Translational Medicine is an open access journal publishing articles focusing on information derived from human experimentation so as to optimize the communication between basic and clinical science.
- Translational Pediatrics This link opens in a new windowTranslational Pediatrics is an open access, peer-reviewed international journal indexed by PubMed/PubMed Central, focusing on all aspects of health care in newborns, children and adolescents.
- Translational Research: Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine This link opens in a new windowTranslational Research delivers original investigations in the broad fields of laboratory, clinical, and public health research. Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary in scope, it aims to expedite the translation of scientific discovery into new or improved standards of care and promotes a wide-ranging exchange between basic, preclinical, clinical, epidemiologic, and health outcomes research.
