University Hospitals (UH) is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic health systems. Across Northeast Ohio, it is known for delivering exceptional care while building one of the region’s most comprehensive healthcare innovation ecosystems. By integrating research, entrepreneurship, technology and clinical expertise, UH is shaping the future of healthcare while strengthening the region’s economy.
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, flagship academic medical center
That ecosystem rests on a simple premise: solving healthcare’s most complex challenges requires more than clinical expertise alone. Addressing issues such as workforce shortages, rising costs, patient safety and barriers to access, UH has embedded innovation throughout the organization, incorporating technology, design, implementation science, entrepreneurship and research to develop, test and scale solutions that improve care and create broader economic impact.
At the center of this ecosystem is UH Ventures, the organization’s innovation, commercialization, investment, venture development and strategic partnerships platform. Since its launch in 2016, UH Ventures has transformed ideas into real-world solutions, connecting caregivers, researchers, entrepreneurs, patients and industry partners. Its dual approach supports innovations originating within UH while bringing promising external technologies into the health system for evaluation and deployment.
UH Ventures and Northeast Ohio Medical University co-host the Healthcare Transformation Ideator event, an innovation competition that challenges participants to develop innovative tech-enabled ideas to address a challenging community health need.
As a result, UH is a living laboratory for healthcare innovation. Emerging technologies are co-designed with clinicians, validated in real-world settings, and refined before broader adoption. Since 2020, UH Ventures has evaluated more than 2,000 startups and conducted more than 100 pilots across areas including artificial intelligence, digital health, medical devices, maternal health, pharmacy and care delivery.
UH’s innovation efforts are also generating meaningful economic impact. Through the Healthcare Collaboration Fund, created jointly by UH Ventures and JumpStart Ventures, the organization is helping Ohio-based healthcare startups secure the capital and clinical validation needed to grow. The $8 million fund has completed 14 co-investments and supports companies focused on robotics, digital health, artificial intelligence, interventional devices, supply-chain innovation and next-generation care delivery technologies.
RadiCLE was launched to advance AI in radiology.
The health system is also a key contributor to the Cleveland Innovation District, a regional initiative positioning Northeast Ohio as a hub for healthcare innovation. One example is RadiCLE, a radiology AI innovation and data-collaboration platform that has built a $5 million opportunity pipeline, generated more than $1 million in revenue, secured National Science Foundation funding, and established collaborations across five countries. The platform demonstrates how UH leverages clinical and research expertise to accelerate emerging technologies while creating opportunities for regional growth.
Artificial intelligence represents another area where UH is defining the future. Through the Center for Artificial Intelligence & Digital Experience, a partnership with Northeast Ohio Medical University, UH is advancing the development, validation, deployment and commercialization of human-centered AI solutions. The initiative prioritizes clinical care applications, research, education and training, and commercializeable AI products, further strengthening Northeast Ohio’s position as a destination for responsible healthcare AI.
Recognizing the opportunity to improve the operating room environment, UH worked closely with Lazurite to advance its wireless arthroscopy platform.
The organization’s commitment to entrepreneurship continues with Creative Destruction Lab Cleveland (CDL-Cleveland), launched in partnership with the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. As the first Creative Destruction Lab site anchored within a health system, CDL-Cleveland gives startup founders direct access to clinicians, caregivers and healthcare environments for testing and refining innovations.
Beyond entrepreneurship and investment, UH is accelerating innovation internally. The UH Veale Healthcare Transformation Institute, supported by a $21 million philanthropic investment from the Veale Foundation, advances initiatives on quality, safety, operational excellence, population health and value-based care. Applying human-centered design, implementation science and continuous improvement methodologies, the Institute helps scale innovations, such as UH’s whole-hospital virtual care model, which has improved productivity, patient experience, discharge efficiency and patient safety.
UH’s innovation portfolio also includes the UH Haslam Sports Innovation Center, a nationally distinctive accelerator and investment platform focused on sports medicine, rehabilitation, injury prevention, athlete health and human performance. Supported by a transformational $20 million gift, the Center combines clinical expertise, research and innovation infrastructure to advance new approaches benefiting athletes and active individuals alike.
Underlying these efforts is a world-class research enterprise.
The UH Research & Education Institute supports a comprehensive research portfolio, spanning basic, translational, clinical and health services research. In 2025, the organization’s research portfolio reached $237 million in sponsored funding, reflecting UH’s continued investment in driving discoveries from bench to bedside, bringing hope to patients with “no-options.”
A cornerstone of that research ecosystem is the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, which has spent more than a decade helping physician-scientists and PhD scientists move breakthrough discoveries forward into new medicines that can change patients’ lives. From advances in heart attack treatment and Alzheimer’s disease to rare disease therapies, Harrington’s model combines nonprofit funding, drug development expertise and strategic investment with non-profit and for-profit partners, accelerating commercialization. To date, the Institute has advanced 239 medicines from 78 institutions across the US, Canada and the UK; launched 50 companies; supported 25 medicines in clinical development and secured 17 licensing agreements with pharma.
Together, these efforts demonstrate how UH is redefining the academic health system. Beyond delivering outstanding patient care, UH has emerged as a catalyst for innovation and economic growth. By connecting clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and industry partners, UH is accelerating discovery, advancing healthcare solutions and strengthening Northeast Ohio’s position as a nationally recognized hub for healthcare innovation, artificial intelligence, research and entrepreneurship.
