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Medical science has made great advances in the battle against cancer thanks to the research power of a broad coalition of scientists. To sustain this progress, multidisciplinary perspectives will remain vital, leading the search for better diagnostics, more effective treatments and a greater understanding of the disease.

Alice Wong can testify to that. A chair professor in the School of Biological Sciences and associate vice-president of research at the University of Hong Kong, Wong’s research into signal transduction in cancer cells explores how the disease spreads. Her group’s findings on cell adhesion dynamics potentially open up avenues for novel treatments. She says cancer is just one example among many of how today’s biggest research questions require multidisciplinary collaboration.

“For my project, I’ve brought in chemists, where we talk about drug discovery,” she says. “Even with some of the patient samples, we might have to bring in a biostatistician. We might also have to bring in computational biologists when we handle some of the single-cell data. With these questions, you need people with different expertise to come together to answer them.”

Many of the University of Hong Kong’s interdisciplinary collaborations arise from like-minded scientists getting together in a room. It can be as easy as that. Collaboration often happens organically, bottom-up. “A lot of the symposiums nowadays – say it is a cancer and drug discovery symposium – we are already inviting experts from different areas. By talking to other members from different areas it is easier to get collaborations,” says Wong.

But there are also institutional incentives for those willing to collaborate. The university favours applications from scientists who want to set up research centres with an interdisciplinary focus. Its research committee sets aside HKD 48 million (£4.7m) of annual funding for interdisciplinary projects. Funding streams that prioritise interdisciplinary research still play a vital role in getting projects off the ground. 

The University of Hong Kong’s research ecosystem is supported by funding from the University Grants Committee, whose Collaborative Research Fund was established to encourage the proliferation of multidisciplinary research groups tackling the kinds of cross-disciplinary – and cross-institutional – collaborations that are needed when dealing with subjects such as infectious diseases, climate change, fintech and advanced materials.

Interdisciplinary research needs support at all levels. The talent pipeline is crucial. Wong credits her PhD programme at the University of British Columbia for giving her a grounding in interdisciplinary collaboration. The thesis committee model also taught her the value of interdisciplinary perspectives. 

“They bring in expertise from different departments to come together to look at your work, to ask you questions,” says Wong. “So we are already in an environment where we feel collaboration is important and that we do things together.”

Wong says the biggest challenge thereafter is whether researchers can attract others to work with them and whether they can lead a project. It all begins with a conversation and a compelling research question in search of an answer.

Times Higher Education has partnered with Schmidt Science Fellows to develop a new ranking measuring universities’ contribution to interdisciplinary science. 

 about Schmidt Science Fellows.