Clinical research involves studying new tests, treatments, and medicines to see if they are safe and effective for people. Clinical research is an important part of the healthcare industry, as it allows doctors and scientists to find better ways to improve people’s health. On LinkedIn, clinical research appears in various industries and job titles related to conducting clinical trials, analyzing data, and working with pharmaceutical/biotech companies.
Healthcare
Within the Healthcare industry on LinkedIn, there are many job titles related to clinical research and clinical trials. Some examples include:
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Trial Manager
– Clinical Data Manager
– Clinical Operations Manager
– Clinical Research Coordinator
– Clinical Project Manager
– Clinical Scientist
– Clinical Research Nurse
– Clinical Trial Assistant
– Clinical Monitoring Associate
These roles are responsible for coordinating, managing, monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on clinical trials for new drugs, treatments, and medical devices. They work for pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, medical device companies, contract research organizations, hospitals, academic research institutions, and government agencies.
Healthcare clinical research professionals on LinkedIn have backgrounds in life sciences, nursing, project management, data analysis, and clinical experience. They are knowledgeable about clinical trial design, Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, data management, statistics, pharmacology, and regulations for human research protection.
Pharmaceuticals
The Pharmaceutical industry heavily utilizes clinical research and clinical trials during the lengthy drug and device development process. Within pharmaceutical companies, there are various clinical research jobs such as:
– Clinical Research Scientist
– Clinical Pharmacologist
– Medical Science Liaison
– Clinical Trial Project Manager
– Clinical Data Manager
– Biostatistician
– Clinical Safety Specialist
These professionals design, plan, recruit for, conduct, monitor, analyze, and report clinical trials that test medications for safety and efficacy. They are essential in getting new drugs approved by regulatory agencies like the FDA. Pharmaceutical clinical research roles require scientific, technical, and analytical skills.
Biotechnology
Similar to the pharmaceutical space, the Biotechnology industry relies on clinical research and trials to test and launch their products and services. Common clinical research job titles within biotech include:
– Clinical Trial Manager
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Data Analyst
– Clinical Programmer
– Medical Writer
– Clinical Safety Specialist
– Biostatistician
Biotech clinical research pros have backgrounds in life sciences, data analysis, computer science, and healthcare. They use their expertise to coordinate clinical studies and analyze trial data that supports regulatory submissions for the biotechnology being studied.
Hospitals & Healthcare Systems
Many hospitals and health systems have clinical research departments and conduct clinical trials. Some clinical research jobs found within hospitals and health systems are:
– Clinical Research Coordinator
– Clinical Research Nurse
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Project Manager
– Medical Science Liaison
– Clinical Data Analyst
These hospital-based roles manage and coordinate on-site clinical trials, recruit participants, collect and monitor data, work with study sponsors, and ensure research compliance with regulations. They serve as the main contact for clinical trial participants during studies.
Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
Contract research organizations (CROs) are companies that biopharmaceutical sponsors hire to manage various aspects of clinical trials for them. CROs employ many clinical research professionals including:
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Trial Assistant
– Clinical Data Manager
– Clinical Trial Monitor
– Clinical Project Manager
– Drug Safety Associate
– Clinical SAS Programmer
– Medical Writer
These CRO professionals provide clinical operations, data management, biostatistics, medical writing, site management, and pharmacovigilance services to support clinical trials for sponsors. They coordinate activities across teams, trial sites, and countries.
Academic Research Centers
Many universities and academic medical centers have entire departments dedicated to clinical and translational research. Some clinical research jobs found in academic settings are:
– Clinical Research Coordinator
– Clinical Research Manager
– Clinical Data Analyst
– Clinical Research Nurse
– Clinical Trial Project Manager
– Clinical Research Assistant
– Clinical Pharmacist
– Clinical Epidemiologist
These roles help conduct clinical trials and other studies that originate from the academic institution. They provide management, recruitment, coordination, monitoring, data analysis, and other research activities.
Government Agencies
Government entities like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all employ clinical research professionals. Some example job titles are:
– Clinical Research Nurse (NIH)
– Clinical Project Manager (CDC)
– Clinical Reviewer (FDA)
– Clinical Pharmacologist (FDA)
– Clinical Trial Specialist (NIH)
– Epidemiologist (CDC)
– Statistician (FDA)
These professionals help design, coordinate, monitor, review, and analyze clinical studies and trials conducted or funded by government agencies. Their work focuses on public health priorities and regulatory oversight.
Medical Device Companies
Medical device manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific and others need clinical data to get their products approved and marketed. They hire for clinical research jobs such as:
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Evaluation Specialist
– Clinical Affairs Manager
– Clinical Data Analyst
– Medical Science Liaison
– Clinical Project Manager
These professionals manage device clinical trials end-to-end, including feasibility, trial design, site selection, data collection, analysis, and final submissions. Medical device clinical research requires understanding engineering, technology, and regulations.
Clinical Research Services & Staffing Firms
There are also specialized clinical research companies that provide services like contract staffing, consulting, training, and functional resourcing for clinical trials. They hire for flexible and temporary clinical roles like:
– Clinical Research Associate
– Clinical Trial Assistant
– Clinical Data Manager
– Clinical SAS Programmer
– Drug Safety Associate
– Clinical Scientist
Professionals at these clinical research firms work on projects supporting trials in pharma, biotech, and medical devices. They provide expertise and staffing to their sponsor clients.
Clinical Research LinkedIn Users
Here is a breakdown of some statistics on how many LinkedIn members have job titles related to clinical research:
Clinical Research Job Title | Number of LinkedIn Users with that Title |
Clinical Research Associate | 92,000+ |
Clinical Research Coordinator | 49,000+ |
Clinical Data Manager | 32,000+ |
Clinical Trial Manager | 26,000+ |
Clinical Research Nurse | 25,000+ |
Clinical Project Manager | 24,000+ |
Clinical Scientist | 18,000+ |
Medical Science Liaison | 17,000+ |
Clinical Pharmacologist | 15,000+ |
This table shows that there are hundreds of thousands of professionals in various clinical research jobs using LinkedIn. The most common titles are Clinical Research Associate, Clinical Research Coordinator, and Clinical Data Manager. However, there are many other clinical roles represented across healthcare, life sciences, biotech, medical devices, CROs, and more.
Clinical Research Skills on LinkedIn
The most in-demand skills for clinical research professionals on LinkedIn include:
– Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
– Clinical Trials
– Clinical Research
– Clinical Data Management
– FDA Regulations
– Clinical Monitoring
– Pharmacovigilance
– Medical Writing
– Clinical Study Design
– Drug Safety
Having these relevant clinical research skills listed on a LinkedIn profile allows members to showcase their expertise to potential employers and get found for clinical job opportunities. Both hard skills like data management and GCP knowledge, and soft skills like time management and communication, are important to highlight.
Clinical Research Companies on LinkedIn
All types of organizations involved in clinical research utilize LinkedIn for recruiting, branding, and thought leadership. The largest clinical research employers on LinkedIn based on number of followers include:
Clinical Research Company | LinkedIn Followers |
IQVIA | 426,000+ |
PAREXEL International | 295,000+ |
ICON plc | 159,000+ |
PRA Health Sciences | 93,000+ |
Syneos Health | 62,000+ |
Medpace | 33,000+ |
WCCT Global | 11,000+ |
Clinipace | 5,000+ |
Clinityx | 2,000+ |
The biggest players like IQVIA, PAREXEL, ICON, Syneos, PRA Health, and Medpace use LinkedIn to connect with potential hires, demonstrate thought leadership, and keep up their employer brands. For job seekers, following these top global CROs on LinkedIn can provide insights and opportunities.
Clinical Research LinkedIn Groups
Participating in relevant LinkedIn Groups is a great way for clinical research professionals to build connections, network, stay up-to-date on industry news, ask questions, and share insights. Some popular clinical research groups on LinkedIn include:
– Clinical Research Professionals Network (130,000+ members)
– Clinical Researcher Network (26,000+ members)
– Clinical Trials Management (20,000+ members)
– Clinical Research Associates (18,000+ members)
– Clinical Data Management (17,000+ members)
– Clinical Operations (15,000+ members)
– Clinical Project Management (12,000+ members)
– Clinical Quality Assurance and Audit (9,000+ members)
– Clinical Research Nurses (6,000+ members)
– Medical Science Liaisons Network (6,000+ members)
By joining groups related to their specialization, clinical research professionals can tap into large communities to advance their careers and industry knowledge. Active participation can lead to valuable connections.
Finding Clinical Research Jobs on LinkedIn
So how can those interested in clinical research jobs and careers actually use LinkedIn to search for opportunities? Here are some tips:
– Use LinkedIn Jobs to search for clinical research openings by keyword (i.e. “clinical research”, “clinical trials”) or job title (i.e. “Clinical Research Associate”). You can filter results by location, company, work experience level and more.
– Follow companies you’re interested in to get notified when they post new clinical openings. Major CROs and pharmas often post here first.
– Check LinkedIn Profiles of professionals in roles you want to see their backgrounds and career paths. Reach out to connect and ask for career advice!
– Look for clinical research recruiters and staffing professionals on LinkedIn. Connect with them about contract or temp clinical opportunities.
– Join relevant LinkedIn Groups and check discussions and job listings from members. Engage with the community.
– Follow thought leaders and influencers in clinical research to get insights on industry trends and opportunities.
– Attend LinkedIn Events related to clinical trials, research, pharma, and healthcare industries.
– Be active posting, commenting, and sharing clinical content on LinkedIn to build your professional brand.
Conclusion
In summary, clinical research professionals and opportunities span various industries and settings including pharma, biotech, CROs, healthcare, academia, medical devices, and government. Hundreds of thousands of people in clinical research jobs use LinkedIn to network, find opportunities, showcase expertise, and share content. For those looking to enter the clinical research field, LinkedIn provides powerful tools and resources to connect with the right people and positions. An optimized LinkedIn presence combined with active participation in industry groups and discussions can greatly advance a clinical research career.