Research Team

While you alone may have identified a need, conducting research is a team endeavor. In order to answer your research question, you’ll need mentors to guide you, collaborators to work alongside you, staff to provide administrative and clinical support, and any number of other stakeholders to provide specific input and services. Get to know the traditional roles of the research team here before moving on in the research process.

Engaging Communities in Your Research
  • The Importance of Engaging Communities in Research
    • This article discusses how unmet community needs can inform research studies in what has come to be known as community-based participatory research (CBPR).
  • Research Team and Research Environment
    • Learn about best practices in equity, diversity, and inclusion in the following areas:
      • Team composition and recruitment processes
      • Training and development opportunities
      • Inclusion
  • Framing Equity in Community Advisory Board.
    • Use these tips and resources to assist your healthcare organization with developing and maintaining an effective CAB
  • Roadmap Guide to Linking Quality and Equity 
    • Examine conceptual approaches and data on health disparities in the United States and highlights the fact that evaluating health disparities requires some discussion before looking at the data.
  • Cancer Data Visualizer.
    • Publicly available, interactive website that allows users to view cancer-related data for the GW Cancer Center catchment area.
  • Health behavior data from the DC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey
  • DC Health Matters
    • One-stop online access to community health indicators and related resources that impact the health of DC communities
  • NIH Scientific Workforce Diversity (Toolkit) guides users through evidence-based interrelated activities that foster an inclusive culture that unleashes the power of diversity to achieve research and institutional excellence.
  • Multicultural Competencies (Pre-test).
    • Assess your current knowledge about issues related to identity, diversity, and social justice. Measuring research mentor’s cultural diversity awareness (2021 Byars Winston et al https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-06-0127)
  • Clinical Conversations (NIH National Library of Medicine)
    • Supports those who interact with patients to support health literacy and discuss related concepts; allows clinical trainers or managers to offer brief trainings for continuing education
  • Rodham Institute applies the transformative power of education to achieve health equity in Washington, D.C.
  • Communication and Outreach to Hispanic/Latinx Communities, including Dr. Elmer Huerta’s “Cuidando su Salud(link is external),” (Taking Care of Your Health) on Radio America.
  • Center for Black Equity
    • The Center for Black Equity endeavors to help improve equity in three areas: Economic, Social, and Health
  • DC Health Matters
  • Law, Ethics, and Genomics in Society (LEGACY) Accelerator. Multi-faceted initiative builds on collaborative framework to address ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) in research.
  • Community Bus trips. Community bus trips are CAB-led immersive experiences for trainees, investigators, and research teams into local neighborhoods to provide contextual understanding of DC communities.
Effective Team Science 
Managing Team Dynamics
  • Running Effective Meetings.
    • This 8 minute long video module outlines the Seven Step Meeting, an established process that has been shown to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of meetings.
  • Team Meeting Facilitation
    • Provides an overview of specific competencies that are required to effectively run meetings.
  • Dealing with Conflict
    • Reviews types of conflict, and conflict management steps.
  • Building Trust
    • Provides an overview of building trust among team members, assessing trust, understanding gaps, and incorporating positive changes. See Also: How to manage the Decision to Trust 
  • Encouraging Full Participation.
    • 11 minute long TEDx Talk focuses on building a psychologically safe workplace.
  • Managing Virtual Communication
    • Outlines five ways to improve communication in virtual teams
  • Monitoring Team Functioning
    • Outlines evidenced-based best practices for debriefing.
Multi-investigator Programs and Studies
Finding Collaborators
  • Faculty Research Database.
    • Searchable database for researchers at SMHS and Children’s; Use keywords, research methods, translational level.
  • GW Expert Finder 
    • GW’s university-wide information repository showcases research, scholarship and expertise.
  • CTSI-CN Profile Search 
    • CTSI-CN Research Networking Software
  • Association for Clinical and Translational Science
    • Members committed to applying scientific methodologies to accelerate advances in human health.
  • CTSI-Center for Leading Innovation and Collaboration
  • Making the Right Moves
    • Chapter 12: “Setting up Collaborations” outlines the varieties of collaborations and provides recommendations for successful collaboration.
  • La Clinica
    • Building a healthy Latino community through culturally appropriate health services.
  • Whitman Walker Institute 
    • Long history of clinical research, policy, education and training
  • Local Community Research Partners
    • Urban Strategies Council provides comprehensive expertise to ensure that partnerships work and achieve maximum impact.
  • Coalition of Communities of Color
    • Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC) is committed to decolonizing research and data is a crucial part of realizing systemic change for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This organization offers guidance to help establish research and data justice through the pursuit of racial equity and social justice.
  • DC Science Cafe
    • Opportunity for the public to become directly engaged in open, facilitated, curiosity-driven discussions about the scientific discoveries and technologies.