Academia Slows Down Translational Research?

In Newsweek, Sharon Begley says that NIH has to make translational medicine even more of a priority, citing stumbling blocks to the effort such as "academic advancement." She writes that academia prizes securing grants and publishing in highly-rated journals, but that those top journals are not interested in treatments -- only more niche-ones are -- and thus progress slows down. Orac at Respectful Insolence says Begley missed a few key points. "Begley seems blissfully ignorant of two things: How journal rankings work and the fact that different scientific journals fill different niches," he writes.