Quantitative Team Science (QuanTS) Program

PROJECT SUMMARY As the demand for data-intensive, interdisciplinary research increases, so does the demand for quantitative scientists who excel not only at working with data but also at collaborating effectively within research teams across all fields of medicine. Despite the integral role that quantitative scientists play on these teams, they typically receive very basic, if any, targeted team science training during their graduate studies or in the workplace. We propose the creation of the Quantitative Team Science (QuanTS) Program to provide scalable methods for training and mentoring quantitative scientists who are currently working within the biomedical research community, to foster the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors inherent to effective team science. Relying on our team’s past work, our innovative approach focuses on competencies and skills that are specific to quantitative team scientists. We will first create a series of online educational modules to train quantitative team scientists in ten key collaborative skills. These modules, including both didactic training materials and an accompanying mentor guide, are designed to be asynchronous and self-paced, allowing for a flexible, accessible, and sustainable modality that can be easily scaled and utilized by a broad range of learners. Next, we will implement a small-group, synchronous mentorship program for quantitative team scientists to gain more experiential training and focused mentorship in ten key collaborative skills. In this seven-month program, participants will benefit from a three-pronged mentorship approach including program mentorship, peer mentorship, and home institution mentorship. Throughout the development and deployment of the online educational modules and the focused mentorship program, we will integrate a mixed-methods evaluation process that examines the facilitators, barriers, and outcomes of the QuanTS Program in practice, including examining changes for quantitative scientists, their mentors, and their domain collaborators as a result of the program. This will provide directly actionable information to inform processes for sustaining/expanding the QuanTS Program and will also provide guidance for future quantitative team science trainings. The comprehensive QuanTS Program will grow the workforce of highly-skilled quantitative team scientists who can integrate diverse scientific perspectives into data analyses, communicate results to a range of audiences, and cultivate positive interpersonal relationships within the biomedical research environment. Quantitative scientists are integrated within research teams across all disciplines and phases of biomedical research. Improving the way in which quantitative scientists collaborate with biomedical investigators (i.e., clinicians, bench scientists, domain experts) to conduct interdisciplinary research not only enhances the efficiency and rigor of data analyses but also holds the potential to accelerate the translation of research findings into tangible clinical applications, thereby advancing the frontiers of medical knowledge and patient care.