Abstract
Translational research is an essential yet challenging laboratory discipline, aimed to understand the underlying pathomechanisms and optimize diagnostics and treatment.  One challenge is the increased recognition of the limited translational value of animal studies.  In addition, there is a growing societal awareness calling upon medical research to reconsider the use of laboratory animals.  Together this fuels human tissue-based research beyond routine diagnostics, but how translational is this?  At the department of neurosurgery of the Maastricht University Medical Center (the Netherlands), research efforts aim to inform, enable and accelerate the translation of advances from the laboratory to care givers and patients.  The paper addresses opportunities, requirements and limitations of this type of research, examplified by studies on brain tissue from people with epilepsy.