The Demand for Clinical Scientists
A demand for clinical pharmacist scientists is becoming more widespread within the healthcare arena. Key initiatives in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/clinicalresearch/overview-translational.asp) outline the need to involve clinical pharmaceutical scientists in new research partnerships involving both community-based health care providers as well as academic researchers. Clinical scientists can oversee clinical development strategies, design studies, and analyze data for publication. Other areas include participation and leading preclinical studies on new technologies, and developing protocols for pharmacogenomics and biomarkers. Clinical research does not only involve a “lab-type” research setting. Clinical research also involves studies of human subjects, not limited to surveys, cross-sectional, case-series, case-control, cohort, and first-in-human studies, proof-of-principle projects, and all phases of clinical trials. Translational research/science can be defined as improving human health through practical applications directly involving the patient. There are two processes of translational research: 1) “T1” defined as bench to bedside, or laboratory to human, and 2) “T2” defined as bedside to the community, or evidence to practice. Opportunities to begin your development in translational research as a clinical pharmacist scientist are outlined below.