Physician scientists and clinical investigators are disappearing from the ranks of federally funded research portfolios to the extent that they have become an “endangered species.” Shrinkage of the pool of these investigators has been exacerbated by the shortage of individuals with training in medical sciences and research methodologies that can work at the boundary between basic science and clinical medicine.

Thomas Jefferson University has established a training program in clinical pharmacology and clinical research that integrates formal didactic training in basic pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and research methodologies with hands-on experience in laboratory research and human clinical trials. This program integrates training in the general methodologies, concepts, and approaches of the disciplines of basic and clinical pharmacology and in hypothesis-driven basic and clinical research to produce clinician scientists who can establish competitive basic, translational, and/or clinical research programs and bridge the gap between the laboratory and the patient. This program directly addresses the need to train physicians and those in related disciplines to work at the interface of basic and clinical research to maximize the translation of the products of basic research into novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to patient care.