The 28-member Clinical Research Roundtable (CRR) consists of individuals from a broad range of government, commercial, academic, and non-profit institutions that will gather quarterly for the next 3 years to discuss the challenges facing clinical research. Its June 27-28 meeting was partly organizational in nature, as the members discussed their interests and priorities for future work. The centerpiece of the meeting was a mini-symposium in which several invited speakers helped the CRR explore some of the difficulties involved in attracting, training, and sustaining clinical investigators. The group concluded by forming four groups to explore potential activities in the areas of data collection, the current and evolving clinical research process, career development, and public involvement in clinical research.