Monkey health is a team sport

In today's increasingly complex world, a more robust approach is needed to combat the dynamic nature of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. This is certainly the case where monkeys and neglected diseases (NDs), defined in this volume as diseases not well studied in monkeys, are concerned. The diversity of monkey species and their behavioral ecology, the pathogens to which they are susceptible, and the number of potential interfaces for transmission, both intraand interspecies, demands the integration of disparate disciplines to address this "Grand Challenge." Thus, this subject matter provides a case statement for the development of new "team science" approaches. In this chapter, we briefly explore how the diversity of pathogens, monkey hosts, and ecological drivers of disease transmission require the development of diverse research teams. With this need established, we review terminology and basic approaches to the development of multidisciplinary research that, when employed in an ecosystem health context, provides an approach to characterizing and/or optimizing risks associated with diseases in monkeys.