Clinical Investigator Training Program (CITP)

Overview

The two-year Clinical Investigator Training Program is a cooperative effort involving HST, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Pfizer Inc., and Merck and Company, Inc. The goal of the program is to train physicians from a variety of clinical disciplines in the techniques and processes utilized in patient-oriented research. The program prepares graduates to follow a career path as clinical scientists who are skilled bedside clinicians recognizing problems at the bedside and possessing the technical skill and knowledge to solve these problems at the bench. CITP fellows have the option to pursue the degree of Master of Medical Sciences from Harvard Medical School in conjunction with the Clinical Investigator Training Program.

The program allows trainees to develop direct experience in the performance of clinical investigation and at the same time, through didactic course work, provides them with a strong foundation in the computational and statistical sciences, biomedical ethics, principles of clinical pharmacology, in vitro and in vivo measurement techniques, and many aspects of the drug development process. Pfizer Inc, and Merck and Company, Inc. fund the program and also contribute faculty to the didactic curriculum.

Fellows develop a strong foundation in patient-oriented research. Upon completion of the program, they are able to apply contemporary research tools to clinically relevant areas of investigation, and are competitive for careers in patient-oriented research in academic medicine, industry, and regulatory affairs.