Rethinking University Research: Innovating the Innovation Ecosystem to Support Life Sciences and Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine—tailoring treatments to individual patients based on their genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environment—is transforming healthcare. But this revolution didn’t begin in the private sector. It was sparked and shaped by decades of strategic investment from the U.S. government, especially the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- Genomics as the Foundation
The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003 with major NIH support, provided the genetic blueprint of human life. Follow-on initiatives like The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA), the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), and the Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) linked DNA variants to disease risk.
- All of Us: A New Era of Data
NIH’s All of Us research program, aiming to enroll over one million participants, is creating one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive health datasets. It is enabling insights into how genes, the environment, and behavior intersect to shape health.
- Pharmacogenomics in Practice
NIH’s Pharmacogenomics Research Network seeks to understand how individual genetic differences affect drug response, which can improve dosing precision and reduce adverse effects.
The Evolving Landscape of Federally Funded Research
While federal grants and investments have helped translate genomic insights into clinical impact, much of that foundational work begins in academic labs. Many fundamental discoveries take place in universities—long before they appear in clinical trials or investor pitch decks. Yet, the sustainability of this engine of innovation depends heavily on continued federal support. As funding pressures grow, especially in areas that do not promise immediate commercial return, the need to protect and strengthen university research funding has never been more urgent.
The evolving financial landscape of university-led academic research was addressed by Dr. Julio Frenk at the 2025 LABEST Bioscience Conference. Overall, Dr. Frenk painted a hopeful picture of the future of academic research, encouraging universities to embrace change and seize opportunities for growth and success. His insights provide valuable guidance for navigating the evolving financial landscape and ensuring the continued advancement of knowledge and discovery.
A powerful idea was presented that challenges traditional notions of university research: the need to “innovate the innovation.” This concept, also described as meta-innovation, calls on research institutions to not only produce groundbreaking discoveries but to reimagine the entire process by which those discoveries are made, translated, and applied.
From Research to Real-World Impact
Universities have long been hubs of knowledge creation, but Dr. Frenk emphasized that in today’s complex world, that’s no longer enough. Academic institutions should drive research to link innovation with societal benefits.
A few of Dr. Frenk’s solutions include:
- Dissolve the divide between basic and applied research. Universities should foster a more integrated approach that allows ideas to move more fluidly from theory to practical application.
- Partner earlier and more intentionally with industry and philanthropic investors. Diversifying funding sources and collaborating sooner in the research cycle can speed up the path from concept to impact.
- Redefine the university’s mission beyond knowledge creation to include translation—turning discoveries into technologies and evidence that inform policy and improve lives.
- Build new physical and intellectual spaces, like the UCLA Research Park, that support interdisciplinary collaboration, entrepreneurship, and commercialization.
- Embrace innovation in education and governance, ensuring the way the United States and academic institutions teach, organize, and evaluate research evolves alongside science itself.
The Future of Innovation is Integrated
This call to action urges universities to adopt agile, impact-focused systems instead of traditional academic models. By aligning excellence with relevance, and forging new types of collaboration, universities can remain at the forefront of solving humanity’s most urgent challenges.
In sum, the question is not just what we discover—but how we innovate to make that discovery matter.
About 2025 LABEST Bioscience Conference
The 7th Annual LABEST Bioscience Conference included keynotes from UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Jonathan A. Epstein. Sessions addressed Los Angeles’ growth as a bioscience hub, with panels on topics like “Space Medicine” and “The Business of Bioscience.” The Pearl Cohen Poster Competition showcased over 100 entries from institutions including UCLA, USC, and Caltech. The conference highlighted three core themes: current scientific excitement, market challenges, and future predictions in biotech. Foley & Lardner LLP was a proud sponsor of LABEST Bioscience Conference.
