A fundamental challenge faced by leaders in academic medicine is how to create an environment where clinicians interact with their colleagues engaged in basic, translational, and clinical research. Historically, the unique perspective of specialists actively engaged in clinical practice has served as a catalyst for physician scientists and clinical investigators promoting medical discovery. However, in a world where clinicians face ever-increasing focus on productivity metrics (relative value units), indirect patient care (electronic patient portals), the electronic health record, and regulatory demands, finding time to interact with colleagues and consider science may reflect a bygone era. Consistent with this trend, the traditional major national cardiology conferences have shifted their focus toward clinical updates and clinical trials and away from basic and translational science. Conversely, high-impact basic and translational cardiovascular science is presented at Keystone Conferences, Gordon Conferences, and the like and is published in journals such as Science, Nature, and Cell. The end result is that these forces have effectively isolated emerging science from practicing clinicians.