Team Science in Health

Team science (TS) is a new interdisciplinary field that examines the processes by which scientific teams organize, communicate, and conduct research to achieve scientific breakthroughs that surpass those attainable by individual or simply additive efforts. Whereas the science of TS examines conditions that facilitate or hinder interdisciplinary research, the praxis of TS concerns applying this knowledge base pragmatically to enhance team performance. The paradigm of the solo scientist toiling alone to solve scientific problems has given way to interdisciplinary research teams whose collaboration is necessitated by the proliferation of specialized knowledge, complexity of societal problems, and increasing scientific specialization. Increasing evidence demonstrates that higher impact research tends to emerge from larger, more interdisciplinary cross-institutional teams, given sufficient investment to support frequent communication. Among impediments to successful TS, tenure and promotion policies have been the most recalcitrant but may be beginning to yield to practices that value collaborative scientists.