TREC I participants were among the first scientists nationally to apply the TD team science approach to address the intersection of obesity and cancer research. As leading investigators and trainees in these fields, their reflections on challenges, facilitating factors, and strategies for success can help to inform other investigators interested in applying the TD team science approach, as well as funding agencies that wish to develop initiatives with structural elements that facilitate TD team science within and across academic institutions. The challenges these interview participants experienced related to incentive and reward systems identify the need for changes in academia, publishing, and research funding to create a broader environment of support for the TD team science approach. The structural features of the TREC I initiative may serve as a model for future funding initiatives that wish to facilitate TD team science in scientific priority areas.
