The scheme also promotes engagement in NIHR portfolio research and most now include an associate principal investigator role. A principal investigator (PI) is responsible for the conduct of the research at a research site.
Another way of getting experience in this area is through other leadership roles which are available for some clinical trials and trainee representatives on Trial Management Groups (TMG) are becoming more mainstream. These roles are advertised directly from the trials unit who are conducting studies and are a great way to understand how clinical trials are designed, undertaken and managed.
More information about this role can be found here. Your hospital research and development department will be able to advise you on trials currently running in your hospital that are running the associate PI Scheme. Additionally a list of national studies registered on the scheme can be found here.
Principal investigator training is available from NIHR Learn. A twice yearly Principal Investigator Essentials course is run in the North East and is available to trainees. The calendar for NIHR events is available here.