UNC Clinical Translation Science Award-T32 Program (TL1)

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

D.4. Specific Aim 4. Establish innovative programs and align institutional policies to provide support for and ensure the success of trainees working on interdisciplinary teams. Barrier to be addressed. We have found that there are both individual and institutional barriers to the participation in and conduct of team-oriented science. These are particularly challenging for young investigators being asked work in a team-oriented fashion just when they are embarking upon their academic careers. This is further complicated because our training programs do not incorporate principles of team building or leadership. Finally, institutional policies often do not recognize individual contributions to team oriented research. D.4.1. Achieving Specific Aim 4. The ETCD Core will foster the development of the leadership skills critical for interdisciplinary team science;identify team coaches drawn from a variety of disciplines arid employ them to increase the success of the interdisciplinary teams;develop, implement, and disseminate promotion and tenure policies that recognize and reward individual contributions to interdisciplinary team science;and minimize the current financial disincentives to developing and submitting R-type awards. Rationale. Achieving all three goals of the TraCS Institute as well as the goals of the NIH Roadmap depends upon the formation and efficient function of interdisciplinary teams. Bringing together scientists from different disciplines to address a common problem creates a synergy that cannot be attained otherwise. The ETCD Core recognizes that the success of our training and career development programs will be judged by how well our trainees adopt the principles of interdisciplinary team research in order to create true changes in health practices. However, we also recognize that shifting to a team-oriented approach may be challenging for junior investigators, particularly those who are defining their own career trajectories within a system that has tended to reward individual achievements. In addition, training in effective team building is rarely included or prioritized in current training programs. Below we describe a series of programs and activities designed to address the individual and institutional barriers to successful careers in clinical and translational research.