Clinical research in an academic psychiatry department: some general principles and case studies

Objective: This paper gives guidance for developing collaborative clinical research within an academic psychiatry department. Methods: We describe the experience at the Australian National University Medical School, and present three case studies. Results: The results reveal that general principles include, but are not limited to, intellectual curiosity, mentorship, collaboration and protected time. Conclusions: We conclude that a particular strength of a new research department at a medical school may be close collaborative research within clinical settings.