What does a senior clinical scientist do?
Senior clinical scientists are lead professionals who manage laboratory-based scientists that analyze physiology samples and the interpretation of results that are obtained from diagnostic tests. These scientists must possess scientific knowledge that may help to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases. They are required to collaborate with doctors and other medical staff to interpret test results while identifying suitable treatments for patients. Senior clinical scientists must also present study reports of all their clinical trials and executive project summaries to the senior team.
Senior clinical scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior clinical scientist resumes:
- Prepare and manage annual budgets and subcontracts for various NIH fund projects.
- Manage CROs and external investigators.
- Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
- Review datasets, TLG and documentations for NDA submissions.
- Respond to FDA questions regarding PMA submission as subject matter expert.
- Team lead for enabling data interoperability and system functions to meet regulatory requirements (FDA).
- Plane, track, and conduct follow-up on all site GCP audits, and vendor audits as required.
- Develop and monitors budget for clinical study, and reviews budgets and contracts with CROs, vendors, and investigative sites.
- Deliver oversight of patient recruitment and retention efforts of country offices.
- Assess patients home, community and environmental settings to provide greater independence with mobility and safety.
- Provide holistic family centered care individualize to unique needs of patients and families founded on evidence-base practices.
- Used Endotoxin and viral contamination assays to detect contamination in cells freezes and identify organism by ribosomal RNA testing.
- Experience with drug interaction, pharmacokinetic, bioequivalence, and special population / procedure (e.g.
- Project manager for environmental assessments, geotechnical soils inspection, and materials testing contracts.
Senior clinical scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Senior Clinical Scientists are proficient in Informed Consent, Patients, and Clinical Pharmacology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Observation skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Clinical Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Informed Consent, 16%
Review country/site specific Informed Consents to ensure documents are presented accurately in lay terms and fulfilled agency requirements.
- Patients, 14%
Provided holistic family centered care individualized to unique needs of patients and families founded on evidence-based practices.
- Clinical Pharmacology, 4%
Team leader who supported the Life Cycle Management (LCM) and clinical pharmacology of several worldwide treatments for HIV/AIDS.
- Clinical Operations, 4%
Coordinated/implemented program activities among all disciplines (clinical, clinical operations, data management, Biostatistics and regulatory).
- Regulatory Agencies, 3%
Coordinated drug supply, processed serious adverse event reports and prepared safety updates for regulatory agencies.
- Patient Care, 3%
Coordinated patient care by prioritizing, organizing, and demonstrating critical thinking skills.
"informed consent," "patients," and "clinical pharmacology" are among the most common skills that senior clinical scientists use at work. You can find even more senior clinical scientist responsibilities below, including:
Observation skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior clinical scientist to carry out their responsibilities is observation skills. This skill is important for the role because "medical scientists conduct experiments that require monitoring samples and other health-related data." Additionally, a senior clinical scientist resume shows how their duties depend on observation skills: "execute ciprodex resistance clinical trial in support of eu submission (cilodex) execute observational trial in support of fluoroquinolone ind"
Communication skills. Many senior clinical scientist duties rely on communication skills. "medical scientists must be able to explain their research in nontechnical ways," so a senior clinical scientist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior clinical scientist responsibilities rely on communication skills: "exercised therapeutic communication with patients and families. "
The three companies that hire the most senior clinical scientists are:
- Bristol-Myers Squibb84 senior clinical scientists jobs
- Merck21 senior clinical scientists jobs
- Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings18 senior clinical scientists jobs
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Compare different senior clinical scientists
Senior 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, senior clinical scientist responsibilities require skills like "clinical pharmacology," "clinical operations," "regulatory agencies," and "patient care." Meanwhile a typical research fellow has skills in areas such as "research projects," "cell culture," "immunology," and "crispr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Research fellows tend to make the most money working in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $57,261. In contrast, senior clinical scientists make the biggest average salary, $141,546, in the energy industry.research fellows tend to reach similar levels of education than senior clinical scientists. In fact, research fellows are 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 23.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior clinical scientist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "informed consent," "clinical pharmacology," "clinical operations," and "regulatory agencies." Meanwhile, a fellow has duties that require skills in areas such as "professional development," "veterans," "mathematics," and "math." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, fellows earn a lower salary than senior clinical scientists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, fellows earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $67,978. Whereas senior clinical scientists have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $141,546.In general, fellows achieve similar levels of education than senior clinical scientists. They're 1.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 23.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior clinical scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Betsy Smith
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College
Senior clinical scientist vs. Phd researcher
The primary job of a Ph.D. researcher is to plan and conduct experiments and analyzing their outcome. You will collect, organize, and analyze data and opinions to solve issues and predict trends. Other tasks you will perform include doing fieldwork to collect samples, writing reports, research papers, and reviews, and organizing materials testing. In addition, you need to liaise with research and production staff, develop ways to resolve problems, and supervise junior research staff.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior clinical scientist is likely to be skilled in "informed consent," "clinical pharmacology," "clinical operations," and "regulatory agencies," while a typical phd researcher is skilled in "python," "chemistry," "research projects," and "renewable energy."
Phd researchers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $79,949. Senior clinical scientists earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $141,546.When it comes to education, phd researchers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior clinical scientists. In fact, they're 4.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 31.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior clinical scientist vs. Laboratory researcher
Laboratory researchers are professionals who manage a research laboratory while performing cellular and biochemical experiments with the primary researcher. These researchers must work with hazardous chemicals and should show expertise in handling lab equipment such as glassware and field equipment. They are required to assist with research projects and interpret the test data of an experiment. They must manage the order of all lab equipment by filling up the purchase requisition forms. Laboratory researchers are required to work with students in all aspects of laboratory research.
Types of senior clinical scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
