The McGill University Faculties of Medicine (Departments of Medicine, Cell Biology and Pharmacology & Therapeutics) and Science (Department of Chemistry) and the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) have joined forces to initiate a new multidisciplinary Drug Development Training Program (DDTP). While our understanding of many diseases has been profoundly altered by the identification of new genes, the ultimate benefit of these discoveries lies in their translation into diagnostic tools and useful therapeutics. The long term goal of this comprehensive training program is to prepare independent scientists and clinician-scientists in a range of disciplines that are confronted with the modern challenges of drug development.