“Lack of knowledge is the true bottleneck to clinical translation. We need to stop telling basic scientists, especially trainees, that their work’s value lies in its translatability.” That is the unexpected advice of none other than William Kaelin Jr., whose scientific discoveries have proved to be both top-rate science and very translatable indeed. His work, for which Kaelin has won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and a host of other awards, has enabled the development of multiple therapies targeting anemia and cancer, including vadadustat.