September 2026
Issue 2
Letter from the JCTS Editor
For as long as I can remember, I have heard variations of the same phrase: we are building the plane while we fly it. During COVID-19, the companion phrase was often even less reassuring: go fast or everyone will die. Both expressions urgency. Neither is a particularly good strategy, and neither is really helpful.
Perhaps it is time to stop building planes while flying them.
After all, we do not really want just better airplanes. We want systems that reliably produce self-flying, self-building airplanes pre-programmed with the destination of relief of human suffering.
The goal of clinical and translational science is not to heroically navigate one crisis after another through individual acts of ingenuity. It is to create a system that continuously improves our ability to prevent and cure disease. Every successful discovery should make the next discovery easier. Every trial should teach us how to design the next trial better. Every implementation should improve our ability to translate knowledge into health.
We often describe such a system as a learning system. But learning is not the objective. Learning is useful because it allows us to act. Clinical and translational science is not fundamentally an information problem; it is a decision problem.
The critical output is not information. It is better decisions. Evidence has translational value when it changes what we can defensibly decide. Across the pathway from discovery to intervention to population health, uncertainty constrains action. As evidence resolves the uncertainties that matter, the range of actions we can responsibly take expands.
This changes how we should think about speed. The goal is not maximum speed, maximum data, or maximum innovation. It is reducing the uncertainties that limit action and adapting when those uncertainties are sufficiently resolved. Move too slowly and opportunities are lost. Move faster than the evidence allows and we create noise, confusion, and harm.
The challenge, then, is achieving governed adaptation at the speed of defensible decisions.
That is not a challenge any discipline can solve alone. Clinical and translational science already depends on clinicians, statisticians, informaticians, behavioral scientists, implementation scientists, and community partners. But we should look further. Systems engineers, reliability scientists, quality experts, human-factors specialists, and others have spent decades studying how complex systems sense, decide, adapt, and fail. We should learn from them rather than rediscovering principles they have already developed and tested.
The future of clinical and translational science will not be determined by how rapidly we can rebuild the plane in midair. It will be determined by how well we build the system that makes each subsequent decision better than the last.
Our guiding light remains unchanged: preventing disease, curing disease, and improving vitality. Our opportunity is to build a research ecosystem that continuously converts uncertainty into evidence, evidence into decisions, decisions into action, and action into human vibrancy.
Chris Lindsell, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
ACTS Updates
Translational Science 2027 Call for Posters
Proposals for Translational Science 2027 scientific sessions are now closed, but that doesn't mean your chance to contribute to our educational program is gone! Submissions for poster abstracts are still being accepted until Monday, October 19, 2026. Don't miss this chance to have your work on display at one of Translational Science's largest networking events, the evening poster reception. Visit our website for the full set of accepted topics and submission requirements.
Translational Science 2027 will be held in Washington, DC from April 20-23, 2027. Start making your plans to join us today!
FACTS Nominations Opening Soon!
Fellows of ACTS (FACTS) is a premier tier of membership to recognize those who have made significant contributions to ACTS and the field of clinical and translational science. We're excited to share that nominations for a new cohort of FACTS will open on Tuesday, October 6. All ACTS members in good standing with at least 10 years of substantial service in translational science are eligible for nomination. New recipients will be announced and recognized at Translational Science 2027. Visit our website for more information about nominations.
Stories from our Members
5 subtypes of common liver disease discovered — including rapidly progressing genetic forms
A liver disease affecting nearly 30% of adults worldwide is not a single illness but five biologically distinct subtypes, Mayo Clinic researchers have found. Each carries different risks for heart disease, liver failure, cancer and the need for liver transplantation.
The study, published in Nature Communications and conducted in collaboration with scientists at Virginia Tech, shows that metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease has multiple pathways — some tied to obesity and diabetes, others driven by inherited genetic factors.
Want to see your institution's stories featured in this section? Head to our story submission form to share your recent articles!
Engage with ACTS
Share your Stories
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for outstanding or groundbreaking work? Is your institution embarking on an exciting project? Send ACTS your story using this form to be highlighted in future issues of the ACTS Connection.
Professional Development
ACTS offers multiple tools to aid in your professional development. Apply to earn one of our new Digital Badges, verifiable credentials to highlight learning achievements in the course of your career. ACTS is excited to introduce new badges and professional development resources in the near future!