Teresa K Woodruff1. 1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA, tkw@northwestern.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE: In 2005, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) called upon the scientific community to identify the most intractable problems in science and medicine and describe how we would solve these problems using teams. METHODS: Our group was one of 8 research communities awarded an 'interdisciplinary research consortium (IRC) grant.' Using the infrastructure of this large, multi-institute grant and a team science approach, we set out to solve the problem of fertility loss in young female cancer patients-work that was not easily funded through other mechanisms. RESULTS: The word 'oncofertility' was coined specifically for the IRC to reflect the intimate partnership between oncology care and fertility care for these patients-two disciplines that would no longer function at arms' length, but as an integrated unit. Catalyzed by the IRC funding mechanism, interdisciplinary teams worked together in unique ways to create a 'bench to bedside to baby' outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The grant has now ended, and remarkably, so have the most intractable parts of the original problem. As we look back on what worked and look forward to tackling the next set of fertility-related questions, we are confident that this very special NIH funding mechanism made a meaningful difference in the lives of women and their future children. NIH and the public would be well-served by supporting clinical problem-based, multidisciplinary team science approaches to catalyze fundamental biomedical breakthroughs and create new intellectual environments in which changes in clinical practice and standard of care can be implemented.
PURPOSE: In 2005, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) called upon the scientific community to identify the most intractable problems in science and medicine and describe how we would solve these problems using teams. METHODS: Our group was one of 8 research communities awarded an 'interdisciplinary research consortium (IRC) grant.' Using the infrastructure of this large, multi-institute grant and a team science approach, we set out to solve the problem of fertility loss in young female cancerpatients-work that was not easily funded through other mechanisms. RESULTS: The word 'oncofertility' was coined specifically for the IRC to reflect the intimate partnership between oncology care and fertility care for these patients-two disciplines that would no longer function at arms' length, but as an integrated unit. Catalyzed by the IRC funding mechanism, interdisciplinary teams worked together in unique ways to create a 'bench to bedside to baby' outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The grant has now ended, and remarkably, so have the most intractable parts of the original problem. As we look back on what worked and look forward to tackling the next set of fertility-related questions, we are confident that this very special NIH funding mechanism made a meaningful difference in the lives of women and their future children. NIH and the public would be well-served by supporting clinical problem-based, multidisciplinary team science approaches to catalyze fundamental biomedical breakthroughs and create new intellectual environments in which changes in clinical practice and standard of care can be implemented.
Authors: Min Xu; Asgerally T Fazleabas; Ariella Shikanov; Erin Jackson; Susan L Barrett; Jenny Hirshfeld-Cytron; Sarah E Kiesewetter; Lonnie D Shea; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: Biol Reprod Date: 2010-12-01 Impact factor: 4.285
Authors: Min Xu; Susan L Barrett; Erin West-Farrell; Laxmi A Kondapalli; Sarah E Kiesewetter; Lonnie D Shea; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: Hum Reprod Date: 2009-07-13 Impact factor: 6.918
Authors: J Smitz; M M Dolmans; J Donnez; J E Fortune; O Hovatta; K Jewgenow; H M Picton; C Plancha; L D Shea; R L Stouffer; E E Telfer; T K Woodruff; M B Zelinski Journal: Hum Reprod Update Date: 2010-02-01 Impact factor: 15.610
Authors: Gwendolyn P Quinn; Susan T Vadaparampil; Clement K Gwede; Cheryl Miree; Lindsey M King; Heather B Clayton; Crystal Wilson; Pamela Munster Journal: J Cancer Surviv Date: 2007-06 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Monica M Laronda; Francesca E Duncan; Jessica E Hornick; Min Xu; Jennifer E Pahnke; Kelly A Whelan; Lonnie D Shea; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: J Assist Reprod Genet Date: 2014-05-21 Impact factor: 3.412
Authors: Francesca E Duncan; Mary Ellen Pavone; Alexander H Gunn; Sherif Badawy; Clarisa Gracia; Jill P Ginsberg; Barbara Lockart; Yasmin Gosiengfiao; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol Date: 2015-12 Impact factor: 2.223
Authors: Emily L Que; Francesca E Duncan; Hoi Chang Lee; Jessica E Hornick; Stefan Vogt; Rafael A Fissore; Thomas V O'Halloran; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: Theriogenology Date: 2018-12-24 Impact factor: 2.740
Authors: Austin G Armstrong; Bruce F Kimler; Brigid M Smith; Teresa K Woodruff; Mary Ellen Pavone; Francesca E Duncan Journal: Future Oncol Date: 2018-01-18 Impact factor: 3.404
Authors: Lauren M Ataman; Jhenifer K Rodrigues; Ricardo M Marinho; João P J Caetano; Maurício B Chehin; Eduardo L Alves da Motta; Paulo Serafini; Nao Suzuki; Tatsuro Furui; Seido Takae; Yodo Sugishita; Ken-Ichiro Morishige; Teresa Almeida-Santos; Cláudia Melo; Karen Buzaglo; Kate Irwin; W Hamish Wallace; Richard A Anderson; Roderick T Mitchell; Evelyn E Telfer; Satish K Adiga; Antoinette Anazodo; Catharyn Stern; Elizabeth Sullivan; Yasmin Jayasinghe; Lisa Orme; Richard Cohn; Rob McLachlan; Rebecca Deans; Franca Agresta; Brigitte Gerstl; William L Ledger; Rebecca L Robker; João M de Meneses E Silva; Lígia H F Melo E Silva; Franciele O Lunardi; Jung R Lee; Chang S Suh; Michael De Vos; Ellen Van Moer; Dominic Stoop; Veerle Vloeberghs; Johan Smitz; Herman Tournaye; Ludwig Wildt; Katharina Winkler-Crepaz; Claus Y Andersen; Brigid M Smith; Kristin Smith; Teresa K Woodruff Journal: J Glob Oncol Date: 2015-12-23