Translation of genetics research to clinical medicine: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute perspective

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is firmly committed to advancing translational research, especially in the field of genetics. An evaluation of the NHLBI’s extramural research grants funded in FY2008 and FY2011 was conducted to establish a baseline from which to assess progress in translational research, to assess current commitments and initial progress, and to identify putative gaps, barriers, and opportunities in the Institute’s human genetics research portfolios.

A search of the category of Genetics using the NIH Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) system was conducted to identify human genetics research project grants in the NHLBI’s genetics research portfolio. The NHLBI genetics portfolios were evaluated using a multidisciplinary research framework continuum that comprises five categories: discovery (T0); characterization (T1); clinical utility (T2); implementation, dissemination and diffusion (T3); and population health impact (T4). The abstracts for the grants were evaluated independently by two reviewers with an adjudicator for discrepancies in coding. The majority of the grants in 2008 and 2011 were classified as T0 and T1 research, with only four grants classified as T2 and beyond.

The majority of genetics grants funded in 2008 and 2011 were in the T0 and T1 categories, although the proportion of grants in T0 actually increased in that period. NHLBI-initiated programs to address this inability to move beyond T1 translation research have yet to have an impact on grant-funded translational genetic research. Future genetics studies should be designed with an eye towards translation to help overcome this barrier.