The National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) was a one-year education program aimed at highly qualified, research-oriented medical and dental students wanting to learn the theory and practice of clinical and translational research that ran from 1997 to 2012.
[1][2] It covered among other topics clinical research design, data analysis, bioethics, and critical review of the medical literature; but most of each fellow's time was devoted to conducting supervised clinical or translational research in their area of interest.
[2] NIH clinician-scientists guided fellows in developing their own learning plans which involved collaborating with principal investigators in NIH intramural laboratories and in clinical areas at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; and this research work was complemented by seminars and journal clubs with peers, and engagement with patients enrolled in investigational protocols.
[2] NIH Director at the time, Harold Varmus, inaugurated the program to offer creative, research-oriented students the chance to engage in clinical research early in their careers.
[1] A 2003 analysis of early career outcomes from the HHMI Medical Fellows and HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Programs found that alumni of these programs were more likely to receive NIH post-doctoral awards, and unpublished data from the NIH CRTP indicate that more than 30% of alumni spend over 25% of their time doing translational or clinical research.