What does a clinical scientist do?
A clinical scientist's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting experiments and research, gathering and preparing samples such as blood and tissues, analyzing and examining specimens through different processes, reviewing data and results, and coordinating with other scientists to develop medicines or treatments. They may also train new scientists, oversee assistants' performance, and maintain order in a laboratory. Furthermore, a clinical scientist may work in hospitals, clinics, private laboratories, learning institutions, or research facilities.
Clinical scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical scientist resumes:
- Manage clinical monitors in successful completion of large international hypertension study.
- Manage and work collaboratively with CRO management to initiate and update contract/consultancy agreements/amendments on an ongoing basis.
- Function as member of the FDA audit preparation team in support of the filed NDA.
- Conduct multiple HIPAA training sessions.
- Identify grant funding opportunities and prepare scientific grant applications (NIH and non-NIH).
- Review serious adverse event reports receive from other local country sectors for expediting to the FDA.
- Evaluate CROs and vendors (patient recruiting services, labs, centralize ECG, etc . )
- Follow GCP, GLP and CLIA laboratory standards to prepare, carry out and report experiments.
- Interact with investigators and think leaders in oncology to facilitate the design of clinical synopses and protocols.
- Coordinate the release of client medical records and create detail summary forms of clients' oncology and medical histories.
- Transfer the clinical measurement methods used to local CRO so they can perform testing at a significant cost reduction.
- Develop an understanding of the clinical research/trial process in compliance with standard operating procedures (HIPAA, etc . )
- Insure follow up of SAE data by liaison with clinical study monitors, name safety contacts and CROs as appropriate.
- Participate in analysis of collect data from cancer patients.
- Participate in the development of NDA including general medical report and safety summaries.
Clinical scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Clinical Scientists are proficient in Patients, Informed Consent, and Clinical Operations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Observation skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Clinical Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 9%
Supported identification of mutations/susceptibility factors impacting treatment of patients with cancer (large patient population).
- Informed Consent, 6%
Experienced in performing informed consent, preparing study documentation, obtaining clearances/approvals, designing studies and handling adverse events.
- Clinical Operations, 5%
Assist with site feasibility and the identification/selection of qualified investigators and study sites in collaboration with Global Monitoring/Clinical Operations.
- Oncology, 5%
Coordinated the release of client medical records and create detailed summary forms of clients' oncology and medical histories.
- Clinical Development, 5%
Developed contingency plans, clinical development plans to meet challenges necessary to execute business and study action plans.
- Clinical Data, 5%
Provided quality control of clinical data in abstracts, posters, presentations and other scientific and educational materials.
"patients," "informed consent," and "clinical operations" are among the most common skills that clinical scientists use at work. You can find even more clinical scientist responsibilities below, including:
Observation skills. One of the key soft skills for a clinical scientist to have is observation skills. You can see how this relates to what clinical scientists do because "medical scientists conduct experiments that require monitoring samples and other health-related data." Additionally, a clinical scientist resume shows how clinical scientists use observation skills: "managed post marketing observational study for 60k patients. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling clinical scientist duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical scientists must be able to explain their research in nontechnical ways." According to a clinical scientist resume, here's how clinical scientists can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "assisted in pma submission and follow-up communications with fda. "
The three companies that hire the most clinical scientists are:
- Bristol-Myers Squibb73 clinical scientists jobs
- Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute49 clinical scientists jobs
- Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings36 clinical scientists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable clinical scientist resume templates
Build a professional clinical scientist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical scientist resume.
Compare different clinical scientists
Clinical scientist vs. Research fellow
A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, clinical scientist responsibilities require skills like "clinical operations," "oncology," "clinical development," and "clinical data." Meanwhile a typical research fellow has skills in areas such as "cell culture," "immunology," "crispr," and "cell biology." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Research fellows really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $57,261. Comparatively, clinical scientists tend to make the most money in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $127,531.The education levels that research fellows earn slightly differ from clinical scientists. In particular, research fellows are 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a clinical scientist. Additionally, they're 19.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical scientist vs. Researcher
A researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real clinical scientist resumes. While clinical scientist responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "clinical operations," "oncology," and "clinical development," researchers use skills like "python," "lab equipment," "c++," and "r."
In general, researchers achieve similar levels of education than clinical scientists. They're 4.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 19.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for clinical scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Kristy Matulevich
Medical Laboratory Technology: Clinical Coordinator, Instructor, Harcum College
Clinical scientist vs. Fellow
A fellow's responsibility will depend on the organization or industry where one belongs. However, most of the time, a fellow's duty will revolve around conducting research and analysis, presiding discussions and attending dialogues, handle lectures while complying with the guidelines or tasks set by supervisors, and assist in various projects and activities. Furthermore, a fellow must adhere to the institution or organization's policies and regulations at all times, meet all the requirements and outputs involved, and coordinate with every person in the workforce.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, clinical scientists are more likely to have skills like "informed consent," "clinical operations," "oncology," and "clinical development." But a fellow is more likely to have skills like "professional development," "veterans," "mathematics," and "math."
Fellows earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $67,978. Clinical scientists earn the highest pay from the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $127,531.Most fellows achieve a similar degree level compared to clinical scientists. For example, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical scientist vs. Senior research fellow
Senior Research Fellows are reputable researchers employed in an academic institution or a research facility. The nature of their employment in the institution is related to their research work or field of interest. Senior Research Fellows lead a team of researchers on big projects that require more team members. They manage the team's budget, set timelines, and guide the researchers. They spearhead the analysis of the data gathered. They also set the tone for the presentation materials. Senior Research Fellows should be passionate about their field, should have a thirst for knowledge, and should be able to lead teams.
Types of clinical scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
