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Purpose: To solve large complex health-related problems, there has been a progressive movement towards interdisciplinary research teams; however, there has been minimal investigation into the attributes of successful teams. The purpose of this literature review was to examine the attributes that are important for the effective functioning of these teams. Method: Literature from medicine, nursing and psychology databases, published between 1990 and 2010, was reviewed. Principal findings: Thematic organization of the findings identified seven attributes important to effective interdisciplinary research teams: team purpose, goals, leadership, communication, cohesion, mutual respect and reflection. These attributes are described in depth. Conclusion: Identification of these attributes could form the basis of a new measure to monitor interdisciplinary research team effectiveness, identify weaknesses and promote team development.

Within a dynamic health research environment with trends toward increasing accountability, governments and funding agencies have placed increased emphasis on knowledge translation (KT) as a way to optimize the impact of research investments on health outcomes, research products and health service delivery. As a result, there is an increasing need for familiarity with the principles of KT frameworks and components of KT strategies. Accordingly, health research trainees (graduate students and post-doctoral fellows) must be supported to enhance their capacity to understand KT principles and the practicalities of implementing effective KT practices.In this paper, the unique opportunities and challenges that trainees within an interdisciplinary research team encounter when they begin to understand and apply constructive and relevant KT practices are considered. Our commentary is based on trainee experiences within the Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes Team (PreHOT), an interdisciplinary research team.

Strategic prioritization of research agendas to address health problems with a large social and economic burden has increased the demand for interdisciplinary research. Universities have addressed the need for interdisciplinary research in their strategic documents. However, research training to equip graduates for careers in interdisciplinary research teams has not kept pace. We offer recommendations to graduate students, universities, health services organizations, and health research funders designed to increase the capacity for interdisciplinary research team training, and provide an example of an existing training program.