We open 2020 and this critical issue of Scientia by celebrating a diverse range of scientific breakthroughs and achievements that are driving forward health and well-being worldwide. In this new decade, we will undoubtedly bear witness to the promise of medical care that is more efficient, effective and patient-centred than ever before. Thus, it is with excitement that we showcase the work of researchers who are challenging and changing the ways in which we diagnose, treat, and even prevent disease.

In our first section, we meet the researchers who embrace a basic science approach to understanding how biological processes impact on health and disease. Far from the pursuit of science in the metaphorical ivory towers, we read how this laboratory-based research holds important theory-driven implications for improving human health.

In our second section of this issue, we showcase technological and methodological advancements that are transforming the diagnosis and treatment of disease. We read how innovations ranging from medical imaging to facial reconstructive surgery hold real potential for improving patient care as they progress through the journey from novel innovation to clinical practice. We conclude the section by meeting Aisling Burnand, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Medical Research Charities in our exclusive interview. We read of their important work in supporting UK-based research as well of the current challenges facing medicine and health care.

Recent advances in drug development are the focus of our third section. We read of the translation of innovation in the laboratory to the clinic from a pharmaceutical perspective and discover how serious diseases including diabetic retinopathy, drug-resistant tuberculosis, and chronic kidney disease are being targeted across the world in the latest research. In our exclusive interview, we meet Kiki Syrad, Director of Grants at Sparks Children’s Medical Research Charity, and read about their vital work in transforming the care of children with rare and potentially fatal diseases.

In our fourth section, we meet the researchers who are committed to challenging cancer in its numerous forms. From the benefits of a whole food diet as a preventative intervention to techniques to minimise side effects of routine cancer treatment, we read about diverse and multifaceted approaches with the shared goal of overcoming this ever-increasing global threat.

In our fifth and last section, we meet the researchers who take their scientific pursuits outside the laboratory and clinic by exploring health and well-being in society more broadly. This final section provides a pertinent reminder of the importance of science in the real world, and the implications for health and well-being from societal, public health, and individual perspectives.

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