Poster Presentation
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Building a Multidisciplinary Collaboration for Clinical Translational Research: Lessons Learned
Adelita G. Cantu, PhD, RN, Department of Family Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| Learning Objective #1: discuss the components of a multidisciplinary research team that focuses on clinical/translational research. |
| Learning Objective #2: identify specific approaches to building a collaborative multidisciplinary research team at multisite areas. |
Tremendous advances have been made in health promotion and restoration research over the past decade but little progress has been made in the potential to prevent morbidity and enhance quality of life in a cost-effective manner. Translation of research into real world practice and settings occurs in two continuous phases: first, “bench to bedside,” or from laboratory research to clinical research application as in clinical trials and second from the clinical research setting to real world practice. This second phase has proven to be a formidable task as numerous studies in a variety of settings indicate that real world health promotion and restoration care does not adhere to evidence-based practice standards. A complex array of social, cultural, financial, and environmental barriers impede the application of quality evidence-based health care. Patients are diverse; no single best practice is appropriate for all patients, providers, or settings. Translational multidisciplinary researchers are needed to identify and understand the beliefs, values, attributes and needs of different populations at greatest risk and to translate that into relevant and specific interventional strategies.
This presentation will describe my first year as a K-12 funded South Texas Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Post Doctoral Fellow. The aim of this fellowship is to provide career development instruction in clinical patient centered translational research for a diverse group of leaders, including a physician, dentist, social worker, and myself, a nurse. I will discuss the lessons learned in building a multidisciplinary translational research team including: topics related to leadership, communication, and practical issues involved in team-based research in the context of specific situations involving research leaders. I will discuss lessons learned from top research leaders and their perspective on how complex multidisciplinary teams function in a real-world research environment and how different approaches can be taken by successful investigators in managing them.