Majority of discoveries made in laboratories do not get to the bedside.   In 2008, more than 800,000 medical research papers were published but by 2011, only 21 new drugs had been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.   This divide between conception of an idea and clinical application  is dubbed the “valley of death”.

To bridge this chasm, it is important to align research and administrative objectives,  says Professor Salvatore Albani, Director of SingHealth Translational Immunology and Inflammation Centre, Senior Clinical Scientist at KKH and Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

“Translational medicine revolves around patients’ needs and is continually evolving.   The administration of an organisation will need to adapt along with the clinician scientists to changing needs and objectives. The administration needs to be very flexible, patient and highly aware of the scientific vision and necessities of the scientists.”


“Even though administrators and researchers may be, and most likely are, very different, they can be driven by the common vision of changing the face of medicine for the good of patients.”  - Prof Salvatore Albani, Director, SingHealth Translational Immunology and Inflammation Centre

Translational medicine requires high-level team work – with a shared vision, a plan of execution and a team built according to the expertise required. Without a common vision, the team risks entering another valley of death of the corporate kind where ideas are laid to rest due to lack of infrastructure, understanding, and communication.

Prof Albani uses a Formula One team as an analogy: “In a race, it is not just about the professional driver.   The engineers, the technical experts and the manager all work towards winning. It is the whole team that makes the race happen. It does not make any sense to drive a great car when there’s no gasoline. The team needs to be committed to the same vision.”

Enny Kiesworo, Chief Operating Officer of Research in SingHealth, shares the same sentiment: “To rapidly align the objectives, we focus on the critical needs of our patients as a guideline in developing our strategies.”

Translational medicine is a highly competitive field.   The institution needs to move very quickly with agility to achieve results.   This is when administrators play a key role, where good planning oils the engine.   “Good planning is fundamental.   Administrators must have good understanding of two dimensions - procedures, bureaucracy, accounting and project time frames, and the necessity for a leading research enterprise to move as fast as the others,” Prof Albani said.

Enny highlighted the importance of communication for a dream team to happen.   She said, “Administrators and clinician scientists can better understand each other through open communication, close team work and high appreciation of each other’s roles, including appreciating the important role an administrator plays in supporting the running of  successful research enterprise.”

Prof Albani emphasised, “Even though administrators and researchers may be, and most likely are, very different, they can be driven by the common vision of changing the face of medicine for the good of patients.”