Book excerpt: Clinical and Translational Science: Principles of Human Research, Second Edition, is the most authoritative and timely resource for the broad range of investigators taking on the challenge of clinical and translational science, a field that is devoted to investigating human health and disease, interventions, and outcomes for the purposes of developing new treatment approaches, devices, and modalities to improve health. This updated second edition has been prepared with an international perspective, beginning with fundamental principles, experimental design, epidemiology, traditional and new biostatistical approaches, and investigative tools. It presents complete instruction and guidance from fundamental principles, approaches, and infrastructure, especially for human genetics and genomics, human pharmacology, research in special populations, the societal context of human research, and the future of human research. The book moves on to discuss legal, social, and ethical issues, and concludes with a discussion of future prospects, providing readers with a comprehensive view of this rapidly developing area of science. Introduces novel physiological and therapeutic strategies for engaging the fastest growing scientific field in both the private sector and academic medicine Brings insights from international leaders into the discipline of clinical and translational science Addresses drug discovery, drug repurposing and development, innovative and improved approaches to go/no-go decisions in drug development, and traditional and innovative clinical trial designs