Is there a role for communication studies in translational research?

As a concept and as a form of practice in the biomedical sciences, “translational research” is both everywhere and yet nowhere, and the challenges to translational success are significant. This essay introduces the notion of translational research in its contemporary sociopolitical context and proceeds to identify problems of communication at the core of translational research. Widely discussed and yet poorly understood, even by those who conduct it, translational research would benefit from the sustained attention of scholars working at the intersection of medical/health humanities and health communication studies.