Clinical drug trial investigators play a vital role in the pharmaceutical and health care industries. A clinical research investigator interprets and verifies data in clinical drug trials and ensures that trial safety and quality standards and regulations are met. Clinical research investigators function as a regulatory force in clinical drug trials, guaranteeing legality and accuracy.

As an investigator in clinical research you are responsible for a wide range of data verification and quality control duties. It's important to be educated and certified as a clinical trials investigator. Clinical drug trial investigators education and training should include:

1. Learning about the eligibility of a clinical drug trial investigator.

2. Gaining certification as a principal investigator of clinical trial research.

3. Supplementing your career with professional workshops and seminars.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get clinical research investigator training online

Investigators in clinical trial are responsible for verifying data in a trial is accurate and legitimate. Often an investigator initiated clinical trial is so precise and finite that clinical research investigators are utilized to research data and determine the legitimacy of the trial. It's important to be educated and certified as an investigator in clinical research to possess all necessary research and investigatory skills.

I recommend: Take the clinical research training course online offered by the NIH Clinical Center to become educated as a clinical trials investigator. The Western Institutional Review Board provides training for medical research investigators. Learn about clinical research investigator functions and responsibilities.

Attend classes to become a certified clinical research investigator

Clinical drug trial investigators can earn continuing education credits by earning investigator certification. This will allow you to join a clinical investigator database or clinical investigator directory, further educating yourself and enhancing your career opportunities as an investigator and researcher in clinical trials. You can opt to become certified in one specific type of trial, such as those that pertain to anticancer or immunosuppressive drugs, or to be a more general type of clinical trial investigator and work in a wide range of clinical trial research fields.

I recommend: The National Cancer Institute offers resources, exams and certifications for health care workers interested in becoming clinical trial investigators. Alpha Clinical Research provides educational tools and a certification exam for clinical trial research investigators.

Excel as a clinical research investigator with supplemental training

As the health care industry changes, so do the responsibilities and demands of clinical trial research investigators. It's important to stay informed about changes in clinical trials for investigators. Attend industry conferences and seminars to stay educated about the latest innovations and issues in clinical research affecting investigators.

I recommend: Attend the "Achieving High Quality Clinical Research" seminar offered by Rochester University. The Harvard Clinical Research Institute provides a series of seminars focusing on clinical trial research methods that will be educational for a clinical trial investigator.

As an investigator in clinical research, you can find many resources to aid in your training and your career. Or if you are someone considering the field, you many not realize that you don't have to be an expert in pharmaceuticals to become a part of the industry. Clinical research investigators must have the right field background, be licensed physicians as well as have professional orientation in international pharmaceutical regulations (ICH GLP).

There is currently a shortage of clinical drug trial investigators, and many organizations offer intern programs to get your feet wet in the process before becoming fully involved. Whether you are the principal investigator in a clinical trial or just an intern, every step you take in the industry is a valuable learning experience.

To make the most on information available on clinical drug trial investigators:

1. Look at training available for clinical research investigators.

2. Take advantage of resources designed for the investigator in clinical research projects such as template forms and sample guidelines.

3. Use a clinical trial investigator database or clinical investigator directory for even more information on finding colleagues, mentors or reference sources.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start with investigator in clinical research resources

Make the most of online tools designed for clinical research investigators.

I recommend: Obtain instructions for clinical trial investigators and sponsors at ClinicalTrials.gov. Review the Food and Drug Administration's Investigational Human Drugs: Clinical Investigator Inspection List (CLIIL). Find resources for investigators from the Columbia University Medical Center. The National Institute of Aging Clinical Research Toolbox is also very helpful with templates, sample forms, guidelines, regulations and information materials for investigators in the development and conducting of clinical research studies.

Sign up for training for clinical drug trial investigators

Gain a lucrative career as an investigator in clinical research by taking the appropriate coursework and training.

I recommend: Follow the Clinical Investigator Program and earn your GCP Certificate from Kriger Research Institute. Look at the clinical investigator recruitment services of Pharmaceutical Product Development. Sign up for clinical investigator training through the Kriger Research Center. Mayo Clinic also offers a Clinician-Investigator Program.

Use even more resources for clinical research investigators

From a clinical investigator database, to a clinical investigator directory and more, clinical research investigators should easily be found online through use of one of the many clinical trial investigator web tools. Finding clinical trial investigators through these search engines are generally just a click away if you know the topic or intervention type.

I recommend: Register and enter the Clinical Investigators Directory to find clinical investigator database information. Take advantage of clinical investigator database - clinical trial data management software from Virtify.

Find clinical drug trial investigators

For those of you in need of clinical drug trial investigators, take advantage of networks and industry associations to locate the clinical trial investigator or clinical research investigators that you need.

I recommend: Find your next investigator through the Clinical Trial Network. Locate an investigator by searching the database of the American Society for Clinical Investigation by state or by specialty.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To become a successful clinical trial investigator, you want to make sure that you have built up a thorough clinical research investigator resume that will attract industry attention.

Clinical drug trial investigator key terms include a few acronyms. These acronyms are used by nearly everyone in the field, so they're important to know. Clinical investigators register with the FDA for each clinical trial they are involved in and need to be up-to-date at all times with both U.S. and European drug regulations and standards, as well as standards of other organizations. Clinical drug trial investigators generally work for pharmaceutical companies.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

ICH, GLP, international pharmaceutical regulations

Acronyms abound in highly technical jobs, and you don't often find these two spelled out because their real names are too long. ICH stands for International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. This is a U.S., Japanese and European body devoted to the safety of drug use for humans. GLP stands for Good Laboratory Practice. When people say 'international pharmaceutical regulations,' they are referring to the standards of these two organizations.

I recommend: The International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) puts out papers on its findings for industry and investigator use. The GLP is not a static set of regulations; regulations are added, upgraded and/or changed for improvement.

Clinical drug trial or drug trial

Clinical drug trials are a very important part of developing medicine and drugs. A drug trial is a very serious enterprise requiring excellent physician skills and research methods. There are four phases to a drug trial as stipulated by the FDA.

I recommend: A drug trial is defined very simply here. ClinicalTrials.gov provides a deeper definition and description for the term.

GCP certificate

A 'good clinical practice' (GCP) certificate is the certification that investigators take and pass after a course is taken on current good clinical practices.

I recommend: The University of Washington, Medicine provides a description and definition of good clinical practice.

FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the health and well-being of its citizens in terms of food and drug safety. Clinical drug trial investigators have to follow these regulations.

I recommend: The FDA has the final say on legalizing a drug for consumer use. It ultimately makes a decision on a drug's safety at least partly through the clinical drug trial research and findings.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals are medicinal drugs. Drug trials are pharmaceutical trials.

I recommend: The Health Care Institute of New Jersey gives the history of pharmaceuticals. Pfizer is one of the world's pharmaceutical giants; you rarely hear any pharmaceutical company described as a "drug company," but Pfizer relies on clinical drug trial investigators.

Clinical investigator forms

Clinical investigator forms are the forms required from a clinical investigator by the FDA. These forms enforce objectivity on the part of the investigator, including requiring financial transparency on the payment from drug manufacturers.

I recommend: There are approximately 14 clinical investigator forms that need to be filed with the FDA.