Translational research is a broad field of medicine with several key phases moving from scientific discovery to bench research and the hospital bedside,followed by evidence-based practice and population-level policy and programming. Understanding these phases is crucial when it comes to preventing and treating illness,especially in global health. Communities around the world struggle with a variety of health problems that are at some times similar and at others quite different. Three major world health issues help to outline the phases of translational research:vaccines,human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiencysyndrome,and non-communicable diseases. Laboratory research has excelled in many of these areas and is struggling in a few. Where successful therapies have been discovered there are often problems with appropriate use or dissemination to groups in need. Also,many diseases would be better prevented from a population health approach. This review highlights successes and struggles in the arena of global health,from smallpox eradication to the impending epidemic of cardiovascular disease,in an attempt to illustrate of the various phases of translational research. Translational research is a broad field of medicine with several key phases moving from scientific discovery to bench research and the hospital bedside followed by evidence-based practice and population-level policy and programming. Understanding these phases is crucial when it comes to preventing and treating illness, especially in global health. Communities around the world struggle. a variety of health problems that are at some times similar and at others quite different. Three major world health issues help to outline the phases of translational research: vaccines, human immunodeficiency virus and Acquired immunodeficiencysyndrome, and non-communicable diseases. Laboratory research has excelled in many of these areas and is struggling in a few. Where successful therapies have been discovered there are often problems with appropriate use or dissemination to groups in need. be better prevented from a population health approach. This review highlights successe s and struggles in the arena of global health, from smallpox eradication to the impending epidemic of cardiovascular disease, in an attempt to illustrate the various phases of translational research.