Integrated clinical research ensembles: A pathway to increased academic productivity

The study objective was to evaluate whether the formation and funding of team science-guided Integrated Clinical Research Ensembles (ICREs) enhance individual faculty productivity, measured by publication and impact factor adjusted citation rates. The setting was a multi-institutional NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award-supported hub.

Monthly faculty publication and impact factor adjusted citation rates were analyzed using data extracted from the hub-managed Faculty Collaboration Database (FCD). The FCD imports indexed publications for all faculty members across four academic institutions, drawing from PubMed and faculty curriculum vitae. Monthly publication counts were modeled using Poisson regression, fitted using generalized estimating equations to account for clustering of observed monthly publication rates of individual faculty. Publication rates were compared before and after ICRE formation and funding, and between faculty in and outside ICREs.

Before joining ensemble teams, ICRE faculty had an 87% higher monthly publication rate than non-ICRE faculty. As ICREs were funded, the monthly publication rate increased an average 72% compared to baseline levels and future citation rates determined by journal impact factors increased by 150%.

Faculty publication and citation rates significantly increased following ICRE funding, demonstrating the potential of structured team science models to boost academic productivity and influence. Faculty inclined to participate in team science through formalized ICREs were already among the more productive faculty.