South Africa is considered a clinical research “hot spot” due to its diverse genetic, drug-naive patient population, known for supplying high-quality data across all phases of drug development at affordable rates. But from a South African perspective, the lack of capacity for health research and the lack of researchers is equally distressing. Leslie Burgess and Inge M Vermeulen of Tread Research outline in their paper the fact that the drug industry, universities and other policymakers need to develop incentives and training opportunities to entice medical students and physicians back into the research field.