The Association for Patient Oriented Research (APOR) was founded in 1998 as an international organization to champion clinical research. It aims to focus attention on the centrality of the patient to the enterprise of medical research, and to promote patient-oriented research as a core discipline of the profession of medicine. APOR seeks to ensure the vitality of patient-oriented research in academic medical centers by strengthening the education of clinical investigators, by increasing the recognition of patient-oriented investigators in their own institutions and in the scientific enterprise at large, and by advocating support for the clinical research enterprise. APOR’s membership includes many of the world’s most distinguished clinical investigators.