Principles and Practice of Clinical Research
By helping researchers improve their clinical research skills in a highly interactive environment, PPCR promotes personal and professional growth and helps participants become more effective in their work.
Main Course
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Main Course
March 27—December 11, 2025 | Application Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
Online, Distance-Learning Program
- Alumni/Alumnae or Repeat Students: $2,100
- Site Center or Group: $3,600 (Click here to view Site Centers)
- Graduate Student: $3,600
- Remote/Web-Based Access: $5,000
Optional Workshops for PPCR Participants
3-Day Advanced Statistical Workshop (On-Site | July 28-30, 2025)
- For PPCR Participants: $1,600
- For Non-PPCR Participants: $2,600
Research Manuscript Writing Workshop (On-Site | July 31 – August 1, 2025)
- For PPCR Participants: $1,100
- For Non-PPCR Participants: $1,600
5-Day Immersion Course (On-Site | Nov. 19-23, 2025 | Included in Main Course tuition)
Program Overview
By helping researchers improve their skills in clinical research in a highly interactive environment, Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (PPCR) will promote personal and professional growth and help participants become more effective in their work. We also expect that the interactive environment of the program will promote connections between participants and help foster future collaborative, multi-center projects.
This comprehensive educational experience is structured around the 9-month Main Course and a series of intensive, optional workshops.
March 27—December 11, 2025 | Interactive Distance-Learning
The PPCR Main Course offers a comprehensive distance-learning experience, covering the fundamentals of clinical research from formulating research questions to complex statistical analysis and study design. Participants will engage in weekly live video-conference sessions, allowing them to learn collaboratively from Boston and various global locations.
The curriculum is designed for both beginners aiming to enter the field and experienced professionals seeking to expand their roles. Upon completion, participants will be adept in designing and managing clinical trials, performing statistical analyses, and navigating the publication process, with opportunities for further hands-on practice through immersion and advanced workshops.
July 28-30, 2025 | Boston, MA
This workshop covers how to design and analyze studies using multiple variables (multivariate analysis), to work with data sets, fit a model, conduct statistical tests in STATA, and read and interpret the STATA output.
This workshop provides additional statistical training for PPCR participants who want to acquire more advanced methods especially in how to design and analyze studies using multiple variables (multivariate analysis). Participants will review and expand their statistical knowledge and apply their skills to their own research. During the workshop, participants will learn how to work with data sets, fit a model, conduct statistical tests in STATA, and read and interpret the STATA output.
July 31-August 1, 2025 | Boston, MA
This intensive workshop introduces participants to essential concepts and tools for writing and preparing research proposals. Focusing on the PPCR research proposal, participants in this collaborative-learning workshop will gain significant new insight into the logical structures and narrative pathways of persuasive arguments that are essential to effective proposal writing. We will also illustrate the principles for writing clearly and concisely in English through constructive peer review and discussion of participants’ draft research proposals.
Topics will include tools for writing and preparing research proposals, insight into the structures, logical arguments, and narrative pathways, tools for writing clearly and concisely in English, strategies for getting published in top journals. There will be exercises to practice these concepts.
November 19-23, 2025 | Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil
Please note that the 5-day Immersion Course is included in the Main Course tuition, however, travel expenses and accommodation fees are not.
The 5-Day Immersion Course will feature six Harvard professors who will review and discuss the material presented throughout the year of the 2025 PPCR course in a detailed and intensive fashion.
A key component of the 5-Day Immersion Course is that students will not only review their group projects and address specific research questions with the Harvard faculty but will also work on their second paper. This second paper involves the analysis of a real dataset, with students collaborating closely with biostatistics and epidemiology faculty. This hands-on approach helps students apply their skills in a practical setting, ensuring a deeper understanding of clinical trials design, statistical methods, and data interpretation.
Students will present their year-long projects and findings to the entire group after discussions with faculty, culminating in an enriching learning experience in a poster presentation session and also will be part of a mock grant review session. Please note that these dates are tentative and small adjustments will likely take place.
The Program
Clinical research is vital for advancement in medicine, yet in most medical specialties – and in many countries – its tools are used inappropriately, resulting in invalid results.
Format
This program combines live and online interactions through web and on-site centers. Participants engage in weekly three-hour interactive videoconference sessions broadcast live on Zoom.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will develop skills in two main domains: design and conduct of clinical research, and interpretation and critical understanding of published research.
History of PPCR
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research was founded and directed by renowned neuroscientist, scholar, and professor Dr. Felipe Fregni in 2007 with some colleagues from University of Sao Paulo (Dr. Marta Imamura, Dr. Wu Hsing, and Dr. Linamara Battistella). PPCR has been intensively developed over these 17 years to offer an optimized learning environment for clinical researchers globally. PPCR alumni have become successful clinical researchers and continue the mission of teaching clinical research thus perpetuating the mission of PPCR. We welcome you to be a part of this journey with us! PPCR is currently offered by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Executive and Continuing Education.
Prof. Fregni, Program Director of PPCR, is a Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and a Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He leads a large clinical research laboratory (Spaulding Neuromodulation Center) and is currently investigating techniques to guide and measure neuroplasticity in brain injury.
He has been at the forefront of advancing neurorehabilitation science to treat conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain. He holds a MD and PhD from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and three Master’s degrees from Harvard University (two Master’s degrees in clinical research from Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and one Master’s degree in education from Harvard Graduate School of Education).
He has more than 680 peer-reviewed publications and has been leading this international training program since its foundation in 2007
50+
Countries represented in PPCR
17
Years fostering cutting-edge education
4.7k+
Participants have completed PPCR successfully
Network with the Best in your Field
“This course definitely changed my way of reading and interpreting published studies and also gave me a better condition to perform my own studies. It was a nice, enriching and unforgettable experience.“
The core mission of Principles and Practice of Clinical Research is to offer training in clinical research and create a global network of clinical researchers. Our program uses cutting edge technology to accelerate and promote training in clinical research.
Overview
Several highly coordinated programs taught by experienced faculty members from Harvard emphasize the mission of our training program effort– interaction via collaborative learning tools.
Join our team
Our team members come from different places across the world. Collaboration with different institutions is part of our mission to extend our training program to researchers from different areas. Contact us to join our team.
Our mission is to create a community of international leaders in clinical research with skills to make progress in treatments for human disease.
Goals
Our goal is to offer a highly interactive learning environment for clinical research training internationally and to create a global network of clinical researchers to foster future collaboration in clinical research.
Long-term vision for participants
After the program is completed, participants are strongly encouraged to continue engaging through our Alumni Community. The Alumni Community was created to maintain interaction between participants and discussion of clinical research topics. Furthermore, additional modules will be offered to alumni who wish to continue their training.
All relevant financial relationships with commercial entities will be disclosed. These disclosures will be provided in the activity materials along with disclosure of any commercial support received for the activity. Additionally, faculty members have been instructed to disclose any limitations of data and unlabeled or investigational uses of products during their presentations.
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