Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences SAMS
Translating academic discovery to patients' benefit: is academia ready to assume its key role?
SWISS ACADEMIES COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 14. NO 1, 2019
Academia does not translate research results into new medical therapies optimally, despite the huge resources invested in biomedical research. The difficulties of ensuring progression of basic scientific knowledge to patient benefit, and how to overcome the identified roadblocks are discussed in the following publication: «Translating academic discovery to patients’ benefit: is academia ready to assume its key role?».
The report published by the SAMS in the «swiss academies communications» series shows that academia has a key role to play in translational medicine, but is still insufficiently prepared to engage in a process that is arduous and risky, requires substantial funding, in-depth drug development knowledge, appropriate structures, and long development timelines. The report identifies important opportunities for improvement.
Ogier R, Knecht W, Schwab ME (2019) Translating academic discovery to patients’ benefit: is academia ready to assume its key role? Swiss Academies Communications 14 (1).
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences a+
Lighthouse Programmes in Sustainability Research and Innovation
Wuelser G, Edwards P (2025)
Lighthouse Programmes in Sustainability Research and Innovation
Swiss Academies Reports 20 (4)Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences a+
Ethical guidelines for animal experiments
The Swiss Animal Welfare Act permits the use of animals for certain scientific purposes; at the same time, however, it requires that the dignity of animals be respected and their welfare protected. For researchers, reconciling these various societal interests can be challenging. The ethical guidelines for animal experiments (2025) are designed to clarify the margin of discretion left by the legislation and to encourage researchers to reflect on the handling of animals in their experiments. The decisive factors for updating the previous version from 2005 were new scientific knowledge and research methods on the one hand, as well as changes in the legal framework on the other.
Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations: A Guide for Reflection and Workshop Facilitation
Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The present guide aims to stimulate reflections on, and discussions of, various different roles that scientists perform.