Collaboration can be challenging; nevertheless, the emerging successes of large, multi-partner, multi-national cooperatives and research networks in the biomedical sector have sustained the appetite of academics and industry partners for developing and fostering new research consortia. This model has percolated down to national funding agencies across the globe, leading to funding for projects that aim to realise the true potential of genomic medicine in the 21st century and to reap the rewards of 'big data'. In this Perspectives article, the experiences of the RA-MAP consortium, a group of more than 140 individuals affiliated with 21 academic and industry organizations that are focused on making genomic medicine in rheumatoid arthritis a reality are described. The challenges of multi-partner collaboration in the UK are highlighted and wide-ranging solutions are offered that might benefit large research consortia around the world.

协作可能具有挑战性；尽管如此，大型、多合作伙伴、多国合作社和研究网络在生物医学领域的新兴成功使学术界和工业界合作伙伴对发展和培育新的研究联盟保持了兴趣。这种模式已经渗透到全球的国家资助机构，从而为旨在实现 21 世纪基因组医学真正潜力并获得“大数据”回报的项目提供资金。在这篇 Perspectives 文章中，描述了 RA-MAP 联盟的经验，该联盟由 140 多名个人组成，隶属于 21 个学术和行业组织，致力于使类风湿性关节炎的基因组医学成为现实。