Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute

What Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute does

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is a non-profit academic research institute within The Pennsylvania State University, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Hershey, PA with operations at the University Park campus. It operates as one of three NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Network members in Pennsylvania, funded primarily through NIH grant UL1 TR002014 (approximately $19 million awarded in 2021 for a five-year period). CTSI delivers a comprehensive translational science support portfolio including the REDCap electronic data capture platform, StudyFinder participant recruitment tool, Project ECHO virtual mentoring programs (as a designated Superhub), Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research Design consulting, Community Engagement, Implementation Science, Informatics & AI, and Clinical Research Centers occupying 6,800 sq ft in Hershey and 14,000 sq ft in University Park.

The institute's business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: services to Penn State researchers and community partners are provided free of charge, including REDCap support (up to 10 hours free consultation), ECHO participation with CME credits, and consulting across BERD, implementation science, and qualitative methods. Revenue derives from the NIH CTSA grant plus distributed pilot/seed funding programs (including AI-enabled biomedical research grants, multi-institutional rural states pilots, and inter-institutional partnership grants) that have demonstrated a 15.7X ROI since 2021. CTSI serves three primary segments: Penn State researchers and investigators (horizontal), community partners and organizations across rural Pennsylvania (horizontal), and rural healthcare professionals (vertical). It operates through a community-engaged research model with event-driven programming including Community-Driven Research Days, multi-series seminars, and ECHO virtual learning networks reaching 800+ members across 66 Pennsylvania counties.

Strategic positioning rests on its NIH CTSA designation, a partner network spanning 32 hospitals and 1,100+ clinics (~5 million patients), and core partnerships with AHN/Highmark, Geisinger, Primary Health Network, PACHC, and the Project ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico. Outputs include 490+ publications citing CTSI support and 1,000+ clinical trials conducted. Leadership is led by Director Jennifer Kraschnewski (MD, MPH) and Administrative Director Erica Francis (MS), with associate directors spanning biostatistics, behavioral health, health systems science, and evaluation functions.

Name

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Legal name

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Website

https://ctsi.psu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Penn State CTSI is an NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award institute within Penn State University that provides free research infrastructure, training, and community engagement support to investigators, healthcare providers, and rural Pennsylvania communities, leveraging REDCap, Project ECHO, and Clinical Research Centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Translational Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Educational Support Services (611710), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS) (HLACAOAD)

Keywords

• Translational science research
• Clinical research support
• Biostatistics consulting services
• Community health research
• Clinical trial infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Hershey

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Grant: Primary funding from National Institutes of Health through NCATS grant UL1 TR002014, providing approximately $19 million in 2021 to support the institute's mission for five years. Additional grants include KL2 TR002015 and TL1 TR002016 for scholar training programs.
2. Pilot Funding Programs: CTSI distributes pilot awards and seed grants to Penn State investigators, with demonstrated 15.7X ROI on pilot awards since 2021, supporting translational science projects and generating follow-on funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Penn State CTSI provides translational research support services and infrastructure to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into health applications. Core offerings include the REDCap electronic data capture platform, StudyFinder participant recruitment tool, Project ECHO virtual learning networks, biostatistics and epidemiology consulting, informatics and AI services, clinical research center facilities, and KL2/TL1 scholar training programs. The institute distributes pilot funding, runs community engagement programs, and connects researchers with healthcare partners across Pennsylvania.

Product overview

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is a research support institute offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services designed to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into practical health applications. The core offerings include REDCap (a secure web-based research data capture platform), StudyFinder (a participant recruitment tool), and Project ECHO (a virtual telementoring program operating as a Superhub). These are supported by extensive services including Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Research Design, Informatics & Artificial Intelligence, Community Engagement, Implementation Science, and Clinical Research Centers at two campuses. Training programs include the KL2 Early-Stage Investigator Training and TL1 Translational Research Training. Funding opportunities encompass pilot awards, AI-enabled biomedical research grants, and multi-institutional collaboration programs. The institute also provides practical toolkits for Community-Engaged Research, Research Recruitment, and Team Science to support researchers and community partners throughout the research lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project ECHO: Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes - a virtual mentoring and case-based learning program that connects healthcare providers with specialists to share expertise and expand access to quality care.

Products and services

• REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture)

Quantifiable outcome

• 15.7X ROI demonstrated on pilot awards since 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Geisinger HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Integrated health system with ten hospital campuses, 550,000-member health plan, and Geisinger College of Health Sciences. Geisinger contributes expertise in genomic health (MyCode initiative with 360,000+ participants), health systems science, implementation science, and population health. Collaboration goals include community engagement studios, research data access, and faculty/staff connections.
• Allegheny Health Network (AHN) / Highmark HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner since 2021; AHN is an academic training center with 560 residents/fellows across 50+ specialties, 300+ clinical facilities, and 2,600 affiliated physicians. Collaboration includes clinical trials office joint meetings, co-designed research course for students, collaborative pilot funding program, and joint seminars with 100+ registered attendees. Partnership has resulted in 24 external research proposals.
• Primary Health Network (PHN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaborator since 2021; largest FQHC in Pennsylvania with 40 sites spanning 17 counties serving 75,000+ patients in 2024. PHN co-designs and co-leads Community-Driven Research Days, collaborated on Buhl Regional Health Foundation-CTSI survey project resulting in regional hub formation, and partnered on Project ECHO for rural physicians following East Palestine train derailment (80+ providers from 26 counties).
• Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaboration since 2018; PACHC represents 488 Federally Qualified Health Centers serving 1 million+ patients annually. Partnership shares 70+ programs addressing rural health, with 200+ provider participants. Working together on Pennsylvania Alliance for Research Excellence to increase research participation and lower barriers for health centers in rural communities.
• Project ECHO Institute (University of New Mexico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a designated Project ECHO Superhub, Penn State CTSI partners with ECHO Institute at University of New Mexico to expand the ECHO Model. This collaboration enables Penn State to train other organizations as ECHO hubs, provide ongoing mentorship, and maintain model fidelity while adapting programs to local needs.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harvard Catalyst: One of the largest and most established CTSA hubs. Comparable as a translational science institute offering pilot funding, biostatistics, clinical research resources, and training within an academic medical center ecosystem.
• Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute: Another major CTSA hub offering the same translational science service portfolio (biostatistics, community engagement, pilot awards, training) at a leading academic medical center, providing direct functional comparability.
• Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR): Johns Hopkins's CTSA hub, comparable in offering biostatistics, clinical research units, informatics, and training to a large investigator base within a top-tier academic medical center.
• University of Pennsylvania Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT): The other major NIH CTSA hub in Pennsylvania. ITMAT operates the same translational science model (biostats, informatics, pilot funding, training) at Penn, making it the closest peer for CTSI given shared geography, funding source, and scope.
• Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research (Spectrum): Stanford's CTSA hub, similarly structured around pilot funding, biostatistics, informatics, and community engagement, serving translational researchers at a leading biomedical research institution.
• Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR): Vanderbilt's CTSA hub and the originating institution for REDCap, the same electronic data capture platform CTSI provides to its researchers. Highly comparable in service portfolio including biostatistics, pilot funding, and informatics.
• University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute: The third CTSA hub in Pennsylvania, structurally identical to Penn State CTSI as a university-based translational science institute funded by the same NIH UL1 mechanism and serving a similar investigator community.

Broad incumbents

• NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences): The NIH center that funds the entire CTSA program, including CTSI. Not a peer in the competitive sense, but a key contextual comparator as the convener and standard-setter for translational science institutes like Penn State CTSI.

Emerging players

• Project ECHO Institute (University of New Mexico): The originating organization of the ECHO model and CTSI's named partner for Superhub designation. Comparable as a translational knowledge-dissemination platform, though UNM focuses on global ECHO replication rather than investigator support services.
• Geisinger Research Institute: A CTSI partner health system with a large integrated research program including the MyCode genomic initiative. Comparable in translational research focus and Pennsylvania footprint, though it operates as a delivery system rather than an investigator-services institute.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pennstatectsi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/penn-state-ctsi

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute