Harvard Catalyst

What Harvard Catalyst does

Harvard Catalyst is Harvard University's Clinical and Translational Science Center, established in 2008 and headquartered in Boston, MA. It operates as a nonprofit academic research infrastructure organization funded primarily through successive Clinical and Translational Science Awards from the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), most recently a seven-year UM1TR004408 grant awarded in 2023, with additional financial contributions from Harvard University and seven affiliated academic healthcare centers (Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute).

The organization provides research support services free of charge to eligible Harvard trainees, fellows, and faculty, organized around four functional pillars: Train (C/T Research Academy, K12 Training Award, Harvard Catalyst On-Demand courses), Connect (Harvard Catalyst Profiles research networking platform, Catalyst Connect resource compendium, SMART IRB reliance system), Support (Biostatistics Consulting, Bioinformatics Consulting via Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core, Regulatory Foundations/Ethics/Law program, Pilot Funding, Informatics Program including SHRINE and i2b2), and Include (community engagement and research enrollment diversity initiatives). Core technology assets include the BSD-licensed open-source Profiles Research Networking Software, the SHRINE federated query network across Harvard-affiliated hospitals, and i2b2 informatics tooling.

The revenue model is grant-funded and non-commercial: there is no fee-for-service pricing, and services are provided without charge to the internal Harvard research community. Total disclosed grant inflows include $117.5 million for the initial 2008-2013 award, with subsequent five-year cycles in 2013 and 2018 and a seven-year cycle beginning in 2023; specific dollar amounts for the post-2008 awards are not publicly disclosed. The organization employs 51-100 staff and is governed by Multiple Principal Investigators (Lee Nadler and Lindsey Baden) and Senior Director of Administration Lucy Kolessin.

Name

Harvard Catalyst

Legal name

Harvard Catalyst | The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center

Website

https://catalyst.harvard.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harvard Catalyst is Harvard University's Clinical and Translational Science Center, providing free research infrastructure, consulting, pilot funding, and informatics tools to Harvard faculty, trainees, and affiliated academic healthcare centers under successive NIH CTSA grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical and Translational Research Support Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Foundation Relations (Sponsorships, Grants, Partnerships) (EDALAOAE), Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Clinical research support
• Translational science services
• Biostatistics consulting
• Research networking software
• Regulatory compliance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Funding: Primary funding from National Institutes of Health through Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program. Harvard Catalyst was awarded a seven-year UM1TR004408 grant in 2023, following previous UL1TR002541 (2018), UL1TR001102 (2013), and initial 8UL1TR000170-05 awards (2008-2013).
2. Harvard University and Affiliated Academic Healthcare Centers Contributions: Financial contributions from Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers including Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Harvard Catalyst is Harvard University's Clinical and Translational Science Center, providing research support services across four pillars: Train (courses and mentoring programs), Connect (collaboration tools including the Profiles networking platform and Catalyst Connect resource compendium), Support (biostatistics and bioinformatics consulting, regulatory guidance, and pilot funding), and Include (community engagement initiatives). The organization operates informatics platforms such as i2b2, SHRINE, and the SMART IRB reliance system to enable cross-institutional and interdisciplinary clinical and translational research.

Product overview

Harvard Catalyst is Harvard University's Clinical and Translational Science Center, providing a comprehensive platform of research support services organized into four core pillars: Train (courses, mentoring, and training programs), Connect (tools for collaboration including Profiles networking and Catalyst Connect resource compendium), Support (biostatistics and bioinformatics consulting, regulatory guidance, pilot funding), and Include (community engagement initiatives). The core product is Harvard Catalyst Profiles, a research networking platform powered by open-source Profiles Research Networking Software, alongside Catalyst Connect for resource discovery. Major service offerings include the SMART IRB reliance system for multisite studies, Informatics Program with SHRINE and i2b2 tools, Regulatory Foundations program, and Bioinformatics Consulting through the Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Harvard Catalyst Profiles A research networking and expertise discovery platform providing pre-populated researcher profiles with automated publication discovery, automatic creation of social networks, and interactive data visualizations including concept clouds, map views, publication timelines, and radial network views. Used by Harvard faculty and researchers to discover collaborators.
• Catalyst Connect Research resource compendium enabling users to search for links to local research-related resources at Harvard-affiliated institutions, with resources tagged by categories to filter searches.
• Biostatistics Consulting Program Statistical expertise and consultation services for clinical and translational investigators at all stages of research from study design to interpretation and dissemination of study results, provided free of charge to Harvard postdoctoral and faculty investigators.
• Bioinformatics Consulting Bioinformatics consultations covering analysis and planning, grant writing support, and high-throughput data quality checks for microarrays, next-generation sequencing, and functional evaluation of high-throughput data. Provided through the Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core.
• Regulatory Foundations, Ethics, and Law Program Resources supporting researchers to navigate clinical and translational regulatory processes including IRB guidance, clinical trial registration, data safety monitoring, compliance resources, and ethics consultations for human subjects research.
• SMART IRB Reliance System National platform enabling IRB reliance and collaborative research across institutions, allowing single IRB review for multisite studies and reducing the complexity of IRB review processes.
• Informatics Program (i2b2 and SHRINE) Informatics tools including i2b2 for clinical research informatics and SHRINE for cross-institutional health research queries across Harvard-affiliated hospitals, supporting study design, clinical trial collaboration, and data management.
• Pilot Funding Program Seed funding in the form of pilot grants supporting cross-institutional and interdisciplinary collaborative research projects at Harvard-affiliated institutions.
• C/T Research Academy Training programs including First Grant Bootcamp and educational offerings for clinical and translational researchers at Harvard-affiliated institutions.
• Harvard Catalyst On-Demand On-demand educational content and courses for clinical and translational researchers.
• Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Center (Connector) Research facility and resources supporting clinical and translational research operations across the Harvard community.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Harvard Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Contributing financial support to Harvard Catalyst along with other Harvard affiliated academic healthcare centers.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Contributing financial support and providing bioinformatics expertise through Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Affiliated academic healthcare center contributing to Harvard Catalyst funding and participating in research programs.
• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Affiliated academic healthcare center contributing to Harvard Catalyst funding and participating in research programs.
• Brigham and Women's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Affiliated academic healthcare center contributing to Harvard Catalyst funding and participating in research programs.
• Dana-Farber Cancer InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Affiliated academic healthcare center contributing to Harvard Catalyst funding and participating in research programs.
• Massachusetts General HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Affiliated academic healthcare center contributing to Harvard Catalyst funding and participating in research programs.
• Harvard Chan Bioinformatics CorecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides bioinformatics consultations, training, workshops and educational programs supported through the Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ResearchGate: ResearchGate is a research networking platform for academic scientists. Comparable to Harvard Catalyst Profiles in offering researcher profile discovery and collaboration features, though it operates as a commercial entity serving a broader audience globally.
• Advarra (formerly Schulman IRB): Advarra is a commercial provider of IRB review, IBC review, and research compliance services. Comparable to Harvard Catalyst's SMART IRB and Regulatory Foundations offerings as a provider of IRB infrastructure for multi-site research.

Direct peers

• Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR): Vanderbilt's CTSA-funded VICTR provides translational research support including the well-known REDCap platform. Comparable in scope and as a peer CTSA hub at a major academic medical center with similar service pillars.
• Columbia University Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research: Columbia's CTSA-funded Irving Institute provides clinical and translational research support services in New York. Direct peer with comparable scope including pilot funding, biostatistics, and regulatory support.
• University of Pennsylvania Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT): Penn's ITMAT is one of the original CTSA-funded centers supporting translational science across the Penn medicine ecosystem. Comparable in delivering pilot funding, training programs, biostatistics support, and research infrastructure within a major academic medical center.
• Stanford Spectrum (Stanford CTSA): Stanford's CTSA hub provides translational science infrastructure including pilot funding, regulatory support, and informatics tools. Directly comparable as a CTSA-funded center at a peer elite research university on the West Coast.
• Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR): The Johns Hopkins ICTR is the CTSA-funded hub at Johns Hopkins, providing parallel infrastructure for clinical and translational research including biostatistics, bioinformatics, pilot funding, and research training. Most directly comparable CTSA peer given similar scope, scale, and elite academic medical center anchoring.
• Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI): Duke's CTSI is a CTSA-funded translational research hub offering pilot funding, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and regulatory support. Direct peer as a CTSA hub at a major academic medical center.
• UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI): UCSF CTSI is the CTSA-funded hub at UCSF, offering similar services (biostatistics, pilot funding, informatics, regulatory guidance) within a major academic medical center ecosystem. Direct peer in the CTSA consortium.
• University of Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR): Michigan's CTSA-funded MICHR provides translational research infrastructure including pilot funding, training, and research support services. Direct peer within the CTSA consortium with comparable scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HarvardCatalyst
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCp7KLT8aOE01gGG16d_48MQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarvardCatalyst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harvardcatalyst
• Instagraminstagram.com/harvard_catalyst

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Harvard Catalyst