The Translational Team Science Initiative (TTSI) at Illinois
The Translational Team Science Initiative (TTSI) at Illinois advances research on how scientific teams collaborate, communicate, and drive innovation across institutional contexts. While interdisciplinary and convergence research are central to today’s scientific landscape, we still lack clear, evidence‑based understanding of which institutional resources and team practices truly strengthen collaboration and improve research outcomes. The mission for TTSI is to close this gap—which was highlighted in a recent National Academies report on the state of team science.
By studying real interdisciplinary teams in their everyday research environments, TTSI is building an empirical foundation to understand how science teams function and what helps them succeed. Our work examines how institutional resources shape collaboration, tests and refines team‑science assessment tools, and evaluates practical interventions to improve team dynamics, research integrity, and scientific productivity.
TTSI is a collaboration among:
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB)
Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS)
National Center for Principled Leadership & Research Ethics (NCPRE)
Have questions or want more information?
William Barley
TTSI Program Director | Ph.D., Associate Professor
Department of Communication, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences