Our governance and operational structure

Learn more about the UCLA CTSI organizational structure including the roles of the Directors, the Leadership Group and the Program Leaders.

The UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UCLA CTSI) is a research partnership of the University of California Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation. Our mission is to bring biomedical innovations to bear on the greatest health needs of Los Angeles, an ethnically diverse metropolis of more than 10 million people. In our first 10 years, we have built a robust research infrastructure to support our mission. Multidisciplinary teams have made important discoveries and, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Health Agency, we have designed, developed, and disseminated innovations. Now, we are building on our progress by augmenting the integration with our institutional Hub partners and broadening collaborations in the community as well as with investigators outside the health professions. 

See below for our governing structure. Additionally, our infrastructure includes:


CTSI Directors

Arleen Brown

Arleen Brown, MD, PhD

Clinical and Translational Science Institute Co-Director, Community Engagement and Research Program Leader
Arash Naeim

Arash Naeim, MD, PhD

Clinical & Translational Science Institute Co-Director, Senior Associate Director (Clinical Research), Network Capacity Program Leader, Participant and Clinical Interactions Program Leader, Regulatory Knowledge and Support Program Leader

Steven M. Dubinett, MD, is the director of the CTSI and has served as director since the CTSI’s inception in 2011. A translational scientist and academic leader, he is the UCLA Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and the Senior Associate Dean for Translational Research for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is jointly appointed as distinguished professor in three departments: medicine; pathology & laboratory medicine; and molecular & medical pharmacology. Building on original discoveries relevant to inflammation and immunity in the pathogenesis of lung cancer, he has developed a translational research program, which now utilizes these laboratory-based discoveries in the translational research and clinical environments. He has received uninterrupted peer-reviewed federal funding for translational lung cancer research for more than 25 years. A member of the TIN External CTSA Consultative Work Group and the CD2H PI Focus Group, he serves on the External Advisory Committees (EACs) for three CTSA hubs.

Arleen Brown, MD, PhD, is the director of the CTSI and has led the Community Engagement and Research Program since its inception. A leader in T3/T4 research, Dr. Brown is a general internist and health services investigator whose research has focused on the contribution of the individual, health care system and community characteristics to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities for adults with chronic conditions. She serves on the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) Partners for the Advancement of Community-Engaged Research (PACER) and the national Community Engagement Disparities Workgroup. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science.

Role of the CTSI Directors. The CTSI Directors report to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. The CTSI Directors chair the Leadership Group and are responsible for CTSI operations, budgets, planning and policy. In concert with the Leadership Group, the Directors prioritize activities, allocate resources, set decision-making policies and procedures and assist in conflict resolution. Additional responsibilities include the integration of our biomedical research infrastructure with other UC medical campuses through UC Biomedical Research Acceleration, Innovation and Development. Dr. Dubinett was one of the founding members of UC BRAID in 2010 and continues to serve on the BRAID Executive Committee. The Directors serve as the central liaison between the CTSI and its advisory boards as well as NCATS and the national CTSA network.

Our Hub partners enhance our transformative mission through collaboration and complementary strengths:

  • Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) is a private non-profit university committed to social justice and health equity for underserved populations with community-based research expertise.
  • Cedars-Sinai is one of the largest non-profit medical centers in the US and contributes clinical research expertise and service delivery platforms. It provides strength in mentoring translational researchers, community-based pipeline programs and capacity for biomedical innovation.
  • Harbor-UCLA is a public hospital, part of the LA County Department of Health Services, serving a diverse patient population in southwest Los Angeles County. It is home to The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation, an independent, non-profit biomedical research institute focused on discovery and translational research.
  • UCLA is a public research university with the core mission of education, research and service. It is committed to academic excellence in basic, translational and clinical research. It provides extensive core facilities, health services research expertise as well as implementation and dissemination science, and participating Schools of Public Health, Engineering, Business, Education, Public Policy, Nursing, Medicine and Dentistry.

The CTSI Leadership Group includes the CTSI Directors; Senior Associate Directors, who are domain experts and site leaders; Associate Directors, who are associate site leaders; community stakeholder representatives; and the Administrative Director. The Leadership Group sets the Hub’s strategic direction, including training and educating young investigators, promoting multidisciplinary research, developing community partnerships and integrating large-scale research infrastructure programs across our partner institutions. Leadership Group members are institutional leaders and experts in their domains. The Leadership Group meets monthly.

Senior Associate Directors and Associate Directors

Senior Associate Directors and Associate Directors are clinical and translational science leaders from a range of fields. They bring a diversity of thought necessary to support successful multidisciplinary team science. Directors with primary responsibility for one of the partner institutions or for oversight of a key translational domain, including clinical research, community and collaboration, EDI, informatics and workforce development, have been named Senior Associate Directors consistent with their roles. Senior Associate Directors are involved in succession planning. Senior Associate Directors (domain experts and site leads) are chosen by the Directors in consultation with the Institutional Steering Committee.

Site Leaders and Associate Site Leaders

Cedars, Harbor and CDU are full partners in the CTSI and participate in all CTSI programs. Site Leaders and Associate Site Leaders are clinical and translational science leaders with primary responsibility for CTSI programs at their home institutions. Associate Site Leaders are new positions created in response to the expansive growth in CTSI operations over the past 10 years. Site Leaders are chosen by the CTSI Directors, in consultation with the ISC. Associate Site Leaders are chosen by the Directors, in consultation with Site Leaders. Site Leaders and Associate Site Leaders report in a matrix fashion to the CTSI Directors and the institutional leaders at their site.

The CTSI has 12 programs and two training programs, the KL2 and the TL1. Each program has one or more leaders selected by the CTSI Directors in consultation with the Leadership Group as well as institutional leaders. Program Leaders are operational leaders with direct oversight of their programs. They coordinate program activities across our partner institutions to achieve program goals. Program leaders report to the Directors. Faculty from all four CTSI partner institutions participate in program leadership. Program Leaders meet weekly with the CTSI Directors, Site Leadership and training program Directors at the Program Area Leadership Meeting (PALM). The purpose of the PALM is to exchange information on program activities, identify opportunities for collaboration and integration, and report progress on program metrics and performance goals.

Learn more about each CTSI Program Area

Organizational Chart

Detailed organizational chart shown below.

Organizational chart of CTSI leadership includes the hierarchy of the leadership group, directors, and program leadership