Clinical Translational Science Institute

What Clinical Translational Science Institute does

CTSI (Clinical & Translational Science Institute) is a non-profit academic research institute housed within UCSF, established in 2006 under the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program administered by NCATS. It functions as a centralized research infrastructure platform serving UCSF faculty across the four health professions schools (Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy) and affiliated hospital systems including Zuckerberg San Francisco General, the San Francisco VA Health Care System, and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. The institute's mission is to accelerate clinical and translational research by providing shared services, training, and regulatory support rather than conducting research itself.

Its service portfolio spans core research infrastructure (Clinical Research Services, the Biospecimen Processing Lab / UCSF's largest biobank, the Research Infrastructure Network), informatics and research technology (EHR-linked participant recruitment, REDCap, UCSF Profiles networking platform, APex-Enabled Research modifications), training and workforce development (K Scholars Program supporting 70 early-career faculty annually, CTR Fellowships), funding mechanisms (Research Allocation Program governing 30 intramural grants, Catalyst Awards, Pilot Awards), and community/policy engagement programs (Community Engagement, IMPACT, RAGE, SFBayCRN).

CTSI's business model is grant-funded rather than commercial. Primary revenue comes from NIH/NCATS CTSA grants (UL1 TR001872 for core operations, KL2 TR001870 for K Scholars, TL1 TR001871 for CTR Fellows), renewed on multi-year cycles. Services are provided at no direct cost to UCSF researchers in exchange for mandatory NIH grant citation on resulting publications. Distribution is via direct institutional engagement, the Trial Innovation Network for multi-site clinical trials, and the UC BRAID consortium (five UC medical campuses). Leadership is organized under three Multiple Principal Investigators (Vanessa Jacoby, Harold Collard, Tung Nguyen) with roughly two dozen named program directors spanning all service lines.

Name

Clinical Translational Science Institute

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California

Website

https://ctsi.ucsf.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

CTSI is a non-profit UCSF research institute that provides infrastructure, services, and training to accelerate clinical and translational research for UCSF faculty and affiliated hospital systems, funded primarily by NIH/NCATS CTSA grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Educational Support Services (611710), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Research Support (CRC/CTA) (EDAOAJAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS) (HLACAOAD), Career & Technical Education (CTE) Standards Authorities (EDADAEAE)

Keywords

• Clinical research infrastructure
• Translational science training
• Biomedical research support
• Clinical trial coordination
• Research workforce development

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. NIH/NCATS CTSA Grant Funding: Primary funding from the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health. Grant Number UL1 TR001872. Services are heavily subsidized for investigators.
2. KL2 Training Grant: Supports K Scholars research training and professional development for early-career faculty. Grant Number KL2 TR001870 (post-July 2016).
3. TL1 Training Grant: Supports CTR Fellows through the Clinical and Translational Research Fellowship Program. Grant Number TL1 TR001871 (post-July 2016).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CTSI provides shared infrastructure, services, and training to accelerate clinical and translational research at UCSF. Its core deliverables include biospecimen processing and biobanking, EHR-based participant recruitment, clinical research operations across multiple sites, informatics and data science platforms, pilot funding mechanisms, bioethics and regulatory support, community engagement, and workforce development for early-career investigators.

Product overview

The Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is a research support institute that operates as a platform of interconnected programs rather than a single product. Its portfolio includes core infrastructure services (Clinical Research Services, Biospecimen Processing Lab, Research Infrastructure Network, Informatics and Research Technology), training and career development programs (Clinical & Translational Science Workforce Development, K Scholars Program), funding mechanisms (Pilot Awards, Research Allocation Program, Catalyst Awards), and specialized programs addressing specific research needs (Community Engagement, Trial Innovation Network, Team Science, Bioethics & Regulatory Engagement, Consultation Services, Participant Recruitment, Clinical Trials Operations, IMPACT, RAGE). The institute also provides researcher-facing tools including UCSF Profiles and EHR-based recruitment systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Research Services Provides dedicated outpatient clinical research space, nursing, and operational support for conducting clinical research protocols at UCSF-affiliated sites.
• Biospecimen Processing Lab Provides biospecimen processing, storage, and biobanking services for UCSF investigators, functioning as UCSF's largest biobank.
• Participant Recruitment Program Provides automated identification, contact, and tracking of eligible study participants through EHR-based recruitment tools, used by UCSF investigators to accelerate study enrollment.
• Informatics and Research Technology Provides data science resources, tools, and platforms (including REDCap, EHR-linked data services, and UCSF Profiles) to support clinical and translational researchers.
• K Scholars Program Provides structured research training, mentoring, and professional development for early-career UCSF faculty in clinical and translational science.
• Clinical Trials Operations Coordinates clinical trial management and operations across UCSF, supporting institutional infrastructure for investigator-initiated and multi-site trials.
• Trial Innovation Network National platform providing UCSF investigators access to multi-site clinical trial infrastructure, including master contracting and single IRB support through the CTSA consortium.
• UCSF Profiles Researcher networking and discovery platform enabling public and academic search of UCSF faculty profiles, publications, and expertise.
• Research Allocation Program (RAP) Central intramural grant funding infrastructure that manages 30 different grant mechanisms and pilot award programs across UCSF.
• Catalyst Awards Accelerator program providing funding and expert consultation to help UCSF faculty and graduate students translate research technologies toward commercialization.
• Consultation Services Provides expert consultations to investigators on study design, biostatistics, bioinformatics, regulatory, and translational research methodology.
• Community Engagement Program Builds and supports partnerships between UCSF researchers and community-based organizations throughout the Bay Area to enable community-based participatory research.
• Bioethics & Regulatory Engagement Provides bioethics consultation and regulatory support for clinical and translational research to ensure compliance with human-subjects protections and ethical standards.
• Clinical & Translational Science Workforce Development Provides research training and professional development programs, including the K Scholars Program and Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) Fellowship Program, supported by KL2 and TL1 training grants.
• Research Infrastructure Network Provides shared institutional infrastructure and resources to support clinical and translational research activities across UCSF and partner institutions.
• Team Science Supports and promotes collaborative team-based approaches to clinical and translational research across disciplines and institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 965,000 annual searches on UCSF Profiles
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UC BRAID (University of California Biomedical Research Acceleration, Integration and Development)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010CTSI is a founding member of UC BRAID, a consortium of five UC biomedical campuses (UCSF, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCI) that pools data, resources and expertise to accelerate clinical and translational research. UC BRAID develops shared infrastructure including UC ReX ( federated multi-site clinical data repository) and coordinates cross-campus clinical trial recruitment and IRB reliance initiatives.
• Trial Innovation Network (TIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational platform funded by NIH as part of CTSA consortium. Vision is to improve efficiency and effectiveness of multi-site clinical trials through operational innovation, shared infrastructure, and collaboration across CTSA hubs. UCSF participates as an active partner, receiving inbound multi-site studies.
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTSI is part of the CTSA program funded by NCATS at NIH. Grant Number UL1 TR001872. NCATS provides the primary institutional funding and national network access that enables CTSI's operations and participation in consortium-wide initiatives.
• Community-Based Organizations (Bay Area)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey collaborations with community-based organizations throughout the Bay Area for community-based participatory research and health equity initiatives.
• UCSF HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with UCSF Health for clinical research integration, including EHR-linked data science resources and Learning Health System initiatives.
• San Francisco Health Improvement Partnership (SFHIP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration bringing together community, civic, and academic partners to address public health issues including childhood oral health and alcohol policy.
• San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Research Network (SFBayCRN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding partnerships for research practice improvement and population health across Bay Area healthcare institutions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Penn Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT): University of Pennsylvania's CTSA hub supporting translational research, training (including K-type scholar programs), and clinical research infrastructure for Penn investigators — directly analogous institutional structure to UCSF CTSI.
• Harvard Catalyst | The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center: Harvard's CTSA-funded translational science institute, part of the same NIH/NCATS CTSA consortium. Operates an analogous portfolio of pilot funding, workforce development, biostatistics, and clinical research infrastructure services for Harvard-affiliated investigators.
• Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR): Cited as a comparable CTSA hub providing clinical research support, training, and informatics services to Johns Hopkins investigators. Direct parallel to UCSF CTSI in scope, funding structure, and consortium participation.
• Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR): University of Michigan's CTSA-funded translational institute providing parallel services — pilot funding, biostatistics core, participant recruitment, K scholar training, and community engagement — to UM investigators.
• Stanford Spectrum (Stanford CTSA): Stanford's CTSA-funded translational science institute serving Stanford School of Medicine investigators with very similar pilot awards, bioinformatics, and participant recruitment services — and a regional peer in the Bay Area.
• Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS): Washington University's CTSA hub delivering research infrastructure, training, and clinical trials support comparable in scope to UCSF CTSI, and a fellow member of the Trial Innovation Network.
• Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Duke CTSI): Duke's CTSA-funded institute delivering pilot funding, biostatistics, participant recruitment, and workforce development — a clear consortium peer with overlapping service catalog and academic medical center setting.
• Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR): Vanderbilt's CTSA hub offering comparable programs in research methods, biobanking, learning healthcare system integration, and translational workforce development — a strong consortium peer with established informatics capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Medidata Solutions (Dassault Systèmes): Industry-leading clinical trial technology platform (Rave EDC, Rave CTMS, eCOA/ePRO). Represents the commercial incumbent that CTSI's informatics platform (REDCap, UCSF Profiles, EHR-based recruitment) competes against or integrates with in serving translational researchers.
• Advarra: Commercial provider of IRB review, clinical trial technology (including eRegulatory, eConsent, and CTMS-adjacent platforms), and biospecimen management. Operates adjacent to CTSI's Bioethics & Regulatory Engagement and Clinical Trials Operations programs as an external vendor many CTSA hubs also contract with.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CTSIatUCSF
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ctsiatucsf
• Facebookfacebook.com/ucsfbenioffchildrens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Clinical Translational Science Institute