This is a summary of a story on Duke's Office of Interdisciplinary Programs .
Scientists are often asked to work with peers in other departments and disciplines and even at other institutions - a chance to bring great minds together to chase a common goal.
But there's skill required to put an effective team together, and communication, respect and even differences of opinion can help a team succeed.
As Heather Whitson puts it:
"If you're going to make a necklace of pearls, you have to first go around and gather the pearls."
That's the metaphor Whitson employed to describe the process of building an effective research partnership. She has first-hand experience; a distinguished professor of neuroscience at Duke's medical school, Whitson collaborates with leading experts on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias at Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and other North Carolina institutions. She spoke about the experience this summer during the Interdisciplinary Science Summit 2026 .
Drawing on her experience co-leading the Duke-UNC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC), Whitson shared lessons for Schmidt Science Fellows and other early-career researchers.
Among the key components to a strong team, Whitson looks for complementary strengths rather than duplication. Knowing Duke didn't have every resource necessary for a top Alzheimer's disease research team, she looked for partners who could fill in gaps.
"You guys have this. We have this," she recounted. "What if we put it all together, and then we do some major Alzheimer's research together?"
The collaboration paired UNC-Chapel Hill's cyclotron facility with Duke's internationally recognized brain bank , creating opportunities that neither institution could provide alone.
Other lessons:
- Difference and disagreement can be good, which, Whitson noted, can serve as starting points for conversation.
- Communication and accountability is particularly important. "Everyone should know their roles and be held accountable - through regular reporting, transparency and communication," Whitson added.
- Don't let rejection end a good idea. "Find a different team, do whatever you need to do," said Whitson.
