Bridge the Gap Between Basic Research and Patient Care, NIH Head Urges

Associated Press

Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, painted a stark picture at TEDMED about the difficulty of translating basic scientific knowledge into applications that could be useful to patients.

We need to “build a bridge across this yawning gap,” Collins told the audience at this gathering in Washington of researchers and other thinkers to discuss the future of health care. Collins first serenaded the crowd with his guitar and a song about the need to knock out disease.

Imagining the gulf between basic science and applications as a body of water, Collins said linking them wouldn’t be like building the Golden Gate Bridge.

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