Exploring team dynamics during the development of a multi-institutional cross-disciplinary translational team: Implications for potential best practices (original) (raw)
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Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res., 2012
Teams have emerged as a pivotal form for organizing science efforts. Team goals and issues such as goal alignment are generally considered to be essential to team success. However, given the interdisciplinary and pluralistic goals associated with translational science, team goals become a challenging area for studies that cannot be reconciled without attention to the broader institutional contexts of translational teams. In this commentary, we draw attention to how different goals in team science can be rooted in the broader institutional context and associated logics of action. For the science of team science (SciTS) to impact practice, it is imperative that we be clear about the logic of team goals and their relation to preferred patterns of organizing. We conclude with a reflection on how contextual issues should be at the foreground of SciTS along with the other important issues of team science.
The CTSA as an Exemplar Framework for Developing Multidisciplinary Translational Teams
Clinical and Translational Science, 2012
Th e need for multidisciplinary teams in translational science Team-based models are increasingly used to pursue the technological challenges of "big science" in the postgenomic era. 1 Trend analyses of peer-reviewed scientifi c publications have concluded that biological science advancements are increasingly the product of multi-investigator studies, team science is more oft en cited than the work of an individual researcher, and their work has higher scientific impact. 2-4 The greater impact of multidisciplinary science is attributed to innovation engendered by discipline diversity, 5 and, as a result, the formation of teams in science has become widespread. 6 Although this analysis has been derived from basic biological and physical sciences, it follows that a team approach is also an appropriate organizational form in translational science due to the breadth and complexity of the T1-T4 spectrum. 7-10 As a result, there is considerable interest in exploiting the potential of the nascent fi eld of the Science of Team Science to facilitate translational research. One framework within which this development can occur is the Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards (CTSA), although other academic structures may serve a similar function. 11-13 Development of team science in translational research Th e NIH has published a fi eld guide for collaboration and team science to advance development of scientifi c teams, 14 but this experience may be context-dependent; the best strategies for academic health centers (AHCs) have yet to be determined, and may vary by the specifi c context of individual institutions. Applying lessons from multidisciplinary team-based structures from basic science and industry to academic translational science is inherently complex for several reasons. First, little is known about the optimum way to defi ne, structure, organize, and lead translational research teams. 15,16 Although team development processes for the product-driven business community are established, how teams can be developed within an academic environment that still satisfy the academic needs for peer recognition and individual advancement is not intuitive. Moreover, the most eff ective ways to train and develop the membership of translational teams have yet to be determined, as are the necessary skill sets for team participation or leadership. 7,17,18 In this CTS Special Report, we review considerations of design and support of multidisciplinary teams through integration of literature review and our experience with developing a series of multidisciplinary research teams at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). We have identifi ed key dimensions for the design and support of MTTs and provide case illustrations developed within the CTSA environment. We discuss the opportunities and challenges in the design and support of MTTs and the value of CTSA structure to teams. Th is information will simultaneously drive the development of training curricula for CTSA-affi liated faculty and inform educational competencies for CTSA KL2 programs. Multidisciplinary Translational Teams (MTTs): A Novel Collaborative Approach to Translational Science Unique requirements of an MTT Academic missions include knowledge generation and education, yet MTTs in AHCs must embrace product-like translational goals to develop or apply a device, diagnostic, therapeutic, or intervention to improve human health. Hence, MTTs represent a unique, hybrid form of team organization. We surveyed organizational team types from business and management literature to inform our implementation of MTT support strategies (an annotated bibliography is available as a Supporting Information online).
Assessing and Evaluating Multidisciplinary Translational Teams
Evaluation & the Health Professions, 2014
A case report illustrates how multidisciplinary translational teams can be assessed using outcome, process, and developmental types of evaluation using a mixed-methods approach. Types of evaluation appropriate for teams are considered in relation to relevant research questions and assessment methods. Logic models are applied to scientific projects and team development to inform choices between methods within a mixed-methods design. Use of an expert panel is reviewed, culminating in consensus ratings of 11 multidisciplinary teams and a final evaluation within a team-type taxonomy. Based on team maturation and scientific progress, teams were designated as (a) early in development, (b) traditional, (c) process focused, or (d) exemplary. Lessons learned from data reduction, use of mixed methods, and use of expert panels are explored.
Journal of Translational Medicine and Epidemiology, 2013
The Science-of-Team-Science (SciTS) has become an important area of study as collaborative research becomes more normative throughout science inquiry and especially in medical and healthcare sectors. Team science aims for higher and collaborative levels of inquiry that operate within economies of knowledge similar to transdisciplinarity that strive to synthesize knowledge and innovate as a result of newly developed and hybridized methods of approach. This newly becoming and normalizing mode of science will require professionals to be aware of and embrace the shifting realities which have been the consequence of this new economy of knowledge. The next century of inquiry will require new generations of translational professionals that are keenly aware of their role as part of the translational process no matter what role they presently play in the continuum of bench to bedside to storefront healthcare. This paper reviews the SciTS landscape and theories of transdisciplinarity. It also provides insights about the shifting paradigms currently occurring in the discourse and identifies challenges for translational professionals.
Clinical and Translational Science, 2015
Multiinstitutional research collaborations now form the most rapid and productive project execution structures in the health sciences. Effective adoption of a multidisciplinary team research approach is widely accepted as one mechanism enabling rapid translation of new discoveries into interventions in human health. Although the impact of successful team-based approaches facilitating innovation has been well-documented, its utility for training a new generation of scientists has not been thoroughly investigated. We describe the characteristics of how multidisciplinary translational teams (MTTs) promote career development of translational research scholars through competency building, interprofessional integration, and team-based mentoring approaches. Exploratory longitudinal and outcome assessments from our experience show that MTT membership had a positive effect on the development of translational research competencies, as determined by a self-report survey of 32 scholars. We also observed that all trainees produced a large number of collaborative publications that appeared to be associated with their CTSA association and participation with MTTs. We conclude that the MTT model provides a unique training environment for translational and team-based learning activities, for investigators at early stages of career development. Clin Trans Sci 2015; Volume #: 1-9
Clinical and translational science, 2015
There is growing consensus about the factors critical for development and productivity of multidisciplinary teams, but few studies have evaluated their longitudinal changes. We present a longitudinal study of 10 multidisciplinary translational teams (MTTs), based on team process and outcome measures, evaluated before and after 3 years of CTSA collaboration. Using a mixed methods approach, an expert panel of five judges (familiar with the progress of the teams) independently rated team performance based on four process and four outcome measures, and achieved a rating consensus. Although all teams made progress in translational domains, other process and outcome measures were highly variable. The trajectory profiles identified four categories of team performance. Objective bibliometric analysis of CTSA-supported MTTs with positive growth in process scores showed that these teams tended to have enhanced scientific outcomes and published in new scientific domains, indicating the conduct...
A four-phase model of transdisciplinary team-based research: goals, team processes, and strategies
Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2012
The complexity of social and public health challenges has led to burgeoning interest and investments in cross-disciplinary team-based research, and particularly in transdisciplinary (TD) team-based research. TD research aims to integrate and ultimately extend beyond discipline-specific concepts, approaches, and methods to accelerate innovations and progress toward solving complex real-world problems. While TD research offers the promise of novel, wide-reaching, and important discoveries, it also introduces unique challenges. In particular, today's investigators are generally trained in unidisciplinary approaches and may have little training in, or exposure to, the scientific skills and team processes necessary to collaborate successfully in teams of colleagues from widely disparate disciplines and fields. Yet these skills are essential to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of TD team-based research. In the current article, we propose a model of TD team-based research that includes four relatively distinct phases: development, conceptualization, implementation, and translation. Drawing on the science of team science field, as well as the findings from previous research on group dynamics and organizational behavior, we identify key scientific goals and team processes that occur in each phase and across multiple phases. We then provide real-world exemplars for each phase that highlight strategies for successfully meeting the goals and engaging in the team processes that are hallmarks of that phase. We conclude by discussing the relevance of the model for TD team-based research initiatives, funding to support these initiatives, and future empirical research that aims to better understand the processes and outcomes of TD team-based research.
2014
Translational medical teams are transdisciplinary, highly collaborative, and operate within dynamic environments to solve time-sensitive and complex problems. These teams are tasked with turning observations in the laboratory and clinic into effective interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public. The nature of the problems they seek to solve requires coordination among clinicians, scientists, and experts from various scientific disciplines. Characteristically, translational medical teams have complex compositions, structure, and pluralistic goals, which pose significant challenges and barriers to enacting effective teamwork, compromising team performance. Given these challenges, it is imperative to glean insights from teams research and the science of team science on how to execute efficacious teamwork. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to discuss specific teamwork processes (i.e., trust, communication, self-correction, backup behavior, shared mental ...
Collaborating with the Community: The Extra-Territorial Translational Research Team
Journal of translational medicine & epidemiology, 2014
The purpose of the present study is to suggest a revision of the team science concept to the more inclusive extra-territorial research team (ETRT). Translational thinking is largely marked by the perception of the team as a thing-like structure at the center of the scientific activity. Collaboration accordingly involves bringing external others (e.g., scientists, community members, and clinicians) into the team through limited or dependent participation. We suggest that a promising and innovative way to see the team is as an idea: a schema for assembling and managing relationships among otherwise disparate individuals with vested interests in the problem at hand. Thus, the ETRT can be seen as a process as well as an object. We provide a case study derived from a qualitative analysis of the impact of the logic of translational science on a team assessment of environmental health following an off-coast oil disaster. The ETRT in question displayed the following principles of constructi...
2012
The complexity of social and public health challenges has led to burgeoning interest and investments in cross-disciplinary team-based research, and particularly in transdisciplinary (TD) team-based research. TD research aims to integrate and ultimately extend beyond discipline-specific concepts, approaches, and methods to accelerate innovations and progress toward solving complex real-world problems. While TD research offers the promise of novel, wide-reaching, and important discoveries, it also introduces unique challenges. In particular, today's investigators are generally trained in unidisciplinary approaches and may have little training in, or exposure to, the scientific skills and team processes necessary to collaborate successfully in teams of colleagues from widely disparate disciplines and fields. Yet these skills are essential to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of TD team-based research. In the current article, we propose a model of TD team-based research that...