The CTSI Team Science program fosters multidisciplinary, multi collaborator research by providing training, resources, and support that promote broadly-engaged team science at UCSF.

Broadly engaged team science aligns with the strategic goals of the National Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Sciences, which includes engaging patients, community members, policy makers and non-profit organizations in the translational process. Broadly engaged team science can occur anywhere across the research spectrum, including generating questions, implementing research projects, or translating discoveries from bench to bedside. It promotes research processes and outcomes that are impactful for those who are directly affected by research.

UCSF’s Team Science Program’s current goals include:

• Improving the way that Team Science is described in academic promotion material. Through qualitative surveys with researchers, promotions chairs, department chairs, and deans of academic affairs, the program developed recommendations to recognize the value of faculty engagement in team science as a component of the academic promotion process. Faculty with experience and expertise developing and working in multidisciplinary teams, including community partners outside academia, benefit when their unique efforts are properly defined and valued.
• Creating enhanced funding opportunities through the UCSF Resource Allocation Program. For the past several years, the program has supported efforts to allow for the inclusion of community partners as funded co-investigators on intramural funding opportunities.  The program has subsequently supported five research projects that include a community-based investigator or organization as part of the research team.

For more information about the CTSI Team Science program and broadly engaged team science, contact Program Coordinator, Saji Mansur at [email protected] or Program Director Michael Potter at [email protected].