Enhancing the Professional Culture of Academic Health Science Centers: Creating and Sustaining Research Communities

The  future of basic and translational research in health care depends on  the ability of large, complex health science centers to educate,  discover new answers to complex problems, and operate in the service of  the public good. So what ingredients are required for successful  research in academic health science centers (AHSCs)? This volume  presents a number of compelling, international stories about personal  and professional investments in research activities as well as the  challenges, opportunities, and satisfactions. Each chapter explores  concepts for successful research with a focus on the ways communities of  practice form and sustain themselves in this complex environment. They  explore questions such as creating and sustaining community, promoting  innovation, transitions in leadership, and cross-generation  collaboration from a personal perspective. They also present a series of  portraits of scientists at work: building relationships, supporting one  another, and contributing to their fields of study in unique ways.  Enhancing the Professional Culture of Academic Health Science Centers  offers enlightening reading for researchers, administrators, and policy  makers interested in present and future research activities in AHSCs,  who will be inspired by narratives of perseverance, passion, generosity,  and generativity that fuel research in the centers.