Description
The Clinical Research Fellowship (CRF) offers medical students hands-on clinical and translational research experience with guidance from an experienced mentor in the Harvard community.   International as well as Domestic opportunties are available. The International CRF is performed eight months in Boston and four months in sub-Saharan Africa and features African-based mentorship as well.  See International CRF for further information on this exciting new opportunity.

The Domestic Clinical Research Fellowship is performed in Boston Massachusetts.  Domestic fellows receive a stipend package valued at more than $38,500 (including a base stipend of $27,000, reimbursement of health insurance costs, laboratory stipend, and extension funds during the second year).

Medical students are eligible to apply if they are currently matriculated at any U.S. medical school and will have completed all requirements for two or more years of medical school prior to the start of the fellowship. CRF Fellows receive ongoing career and research guidance from members of Harvard's PASTEUR Program faculty.  For discussion of the policies and procedures of the DDCF fellowship program at Harvard Medical School, see Policies & Expectations. To view pictures of fellowship activities, visit our photo gallery. For discussion of frequently-asked questions, see our FAQ.

"There is a full slate of curricular activities, but the crowning achievement was definitely the Case Study Series. My only suggestion is to hold more!"
- Joan Ryoo, Harvard Medical School

Throughout the year, didactic seminars complement the practical research experience. Initially, seminars cover "core" topics, relevant to many activities in patient-oriented research. Later seminars develop specific skills. Case Study seminars, an innovative curriculum designed specifically for the fellowship, focus on the experiences and turning points in the career of a featured investigator. These seminars are a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the scientific insight, methodical planning, and serendipity that lead to great discoveries.

"This fellowship has been outstanding on many levels. I worked in a great lab, and participated fully in staff meetings. I also gained an indepth understanding of my subject. The chance to ponder scientific problems at length was a much needed luxury. Thanks for the unique and interesting experience!"
- Jon Berz, Tufts Medical School

Choosing Mentors and Projects
The Domestic Clinical Research Fellowship provides students the invaluable experience of working with physician-scientists who are committed to patient-oriented research. A range of patient-oriented projects is supported and students are free to propose mentors and specific research topics they would like to pursue.

"My mentor has been the best teacher I've ever had. He was incredibly generous with his time and explained specific details of trial design and hypothesis testing. In the clinic, I was particularly impressed with his ability to handle challenging patients".
- John Kisiel, University of Illinois at Rockford

While no formal list of mentors is available, the Harvard community offers a very large number of clinical investigators from which to choose. Alternatively, students may request to be matched by PASTEUR with outstanding physician-scientists who have agreed to serve as mentors.

On the subject of selecting mentors and projects, two points deserve elaboration:

(1) Successful candidates usually discuss a possible research topic and mentor in their applications. The exercise is beneficial to applicants in that it helps them form a concrete idea of what the research year will be like. It also helps distinguish their applications (this is particularly important for candidates from outside Harvard as only two positions are reserved for them). Some detail on methodology may also be helpful. The selection committee then reviews each personal statement to identify research ideas with an appropriate clinical orientation and identifiable hypothesis.

(2) However please note, our program considers all mentors suggested by applicants to be "prospective matches". The mentorship arrangements are not considered settled until our selection committee has selected the incoming fellows.  A second and more intensive evaluation is then made of all mentor and project ideas during April-May each year.  Our aim is simply to optimize the fellowship experience. Thus we do not obligate incoming fellows to work with the mentors mentioned in their applications, and may even encourage them to consider other mentors. Applicants are responsible for communicating this policy to prospective mentors in order to prevent misunderstandings.

To view discussion of frequently-asked questions, see our FAQ. For general advice on finding the right mentor, see Finding the Right Project and Mentor. For a list of mentors and projects of our Summer and One-year Fellowship programs, see Previous Fellows.

HMS Students are Funded from Two Sources
The PASTEUR Program and the Harvard Medical School Office of Enrichment Programs (OEP) jointly fund the Harvard students selected for this program. The application tasks listed below include those required by the OEP as well as PASTEUR.

Application Procedure
Applicants should visit the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship application page and submit the following forms online:
(1) Application form
(2) Personal statement. The Doris Duke website lists the required elements as: a) your reasons for undertaking clinical research; b) your plans for future professional or graduate education as well as your long-term career plans; and c) your current research interests, and the areas or questions that you would like to explore through the fellowship. You must limit the length to 6000 characters, including spaces (about 1.25 pages).

When items (1) through (2) above are submitted via the web, you will receive a confirmation email from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

(3) Supplemental statement submitted to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , PASTEUR Administrator. A supplemental statement is recommended as a way to distinguish your application and discuss possible mentors and projects in the Harvard research community. Preference will be given to applicants who investigate possible research projects and mentors in sufficient detail to convey their aims, yet remain open to input from our advising commitee. You must limit your supplemental statement to one page.

In addition, you will need to submit the following hardcopy items to complete your application. The items below must be sealed in opaque envelopes, and signed across the back by the writer as a way of demonstrating they have not been opened or tampered with. We request papers NOT be stapled together, as we will scan them.

(4) Your academic transcripts from medical school
(5) Letter of recommendation from the dean of your current medical school (or Harvard research society master)
(6) Two letters of recommendation from faculty members at your medical school
(7) Ship your application packet to the address below. We recommend using a courier that allows you to track delivery. All application materials must be received on the due date.
(8) Submitting your packet.

Please check this space before sending your application packet to Harvard. Currently there are two addresses:

Use this address for courier delivery (Fedex, UPS, etc):
Clint Sours, 5th floor suite 503
MGH Dept of Medicine
50 Staniford Street
Boston, MA  02114
Tel: 617-726-9130

For letters and other standard US Mail (not recommended for packets):
Clint Sours, S50 - 5 - 503
Department of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA  02114

(Application materials may be faxed to Clinton Sours at (617) 724-9428 as long as hardcopies are also enroute)

If you are accepted into the Fellowship:Additional Application Procedures for Harvard Students:
• Your application packet must be submitted to the Harvard Office of Enrichment Programs (OEP) in April. Please obtain all items the OEP requires for your application. Examples include a letter of commitment/support from your mentor, mentor biosketch, and any IRB information on your project. Additional instructions and OEP forms are available on the OEP MyCourses website, or by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• The OEP and PASTEUR require a four-page Research Project Proposal, normally submitted with the OEP application packet described above. You write the proposal with the help of your mentor and PASTEUR faculty. The Proposal is described in detail below. Harvard students participating in the Doris Duke fellowship are sometimes able to request permission to submit their proposals after the OEP deadline, subject to OEP and PASTEUR approval. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  
  All incoming fellows are assigned a faculty advisor who works to help them critically review their mentor and project ideas.  As part of this process the new fellows write a four page Research Project Proposal addressing the following items: a) background, b) aims, c) hypothesis, d) precise methods - including statistical methods such as sample size/power calculations, selection process for subjects/controls, and the timeline for data collection & analysis, e) expected results and lastly  f) bibliography.  The source of funding for the project must also be described.  Note, you may be required to make several modifications.  PASTEUR faculty must review and approve your proposal.  The aim, as stated above, is  before it is submitted to the OEP.

Calendar Notes
• January 15, 2009 - All application materials must be received
• March 20, 2009 - First-round invitations issued
• April 3, 2009 - Applicants offered the fellowship must accept or decline
• April 2009 - Harvard students joining the fellowship must submit applications to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it of HMS OEP 
• April-June, 2009 - Incoming fellows write formal project proposal with guidance from our program
• June 29, 2009 - Expected orientation event in Boston, Massachusetts
• July 1, 2009 - One-year fellowship period officially begins

Background
This fellowship, now offered at ten medical schools, is the first in the nation to focus exclusively on clinical research at academic medical centers.  Harvard Medical School is one of the original seven schools that developed the fellowship in 2001. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation renewed funding for the program in 2005, again in 2008.  Twelve medical schools in United States now offer the Clinical Research fellowship.

The fellowship at Harvard is administered by PASTEUR, an educational program designed to introduce medical students to the unique methods and strategies of patient-oriented research. PASTEUR ( Patient-Associated Science: Training, Education, Understanding, and Research) seeks to develop tomorrow's patient-oriented investigators, who will translate promising biological advances into real clinical progress. The Director of the PASTEUR Program is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Physician-in-Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The PASTEUR co-Director is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . The PASTEUR administrator is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Additional information can be found at Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship website.  This site has links to helpful information such as the archived 2005 "CRF Fellow News", a newsletter containing descriptions of fellowship activities and profiles of actual fellows. Additional information can be found on archived issues from 2004 and 2003.   in 2005, DDCF staff published a paper about the Clinical Research Fellowship in the Journal of Investigative Medicine summarizing the results of the program's first three years.