During the CSTP program, each resident will develop and carry out a mentored research project in their area of interest, working with a senior University of Pittsburgh researcher/mentor. By completion of the residency, with guidance from their mentor and CSTP faculty, each resident is expected to have presented their data in a public scientific forum, and developed a manuscript for submission for publication.

The residents complement their independent research experience with additional learning among peers. Throughout their medical training, the CSTP residents participate in a regular seminar series which include didactic sessions as well as opportunities to present the development of their research for feedback from their peers and faculty members. They share these seminars with physicians in training from other Institute for Clinical Research Education programs.

The residents also share their unique insights with peers from diverse backgrounds in the setting of the core courses of the Institute for Clinical Research Education. During this intensive summer series, members of all the clinical research training programs offered by the Institute for Clinical Research Education (each tailored to the needs of diverse groups of scholars) are taught by multidisciplinary University of Pittsburgh faculty.