Evolving with Healthcare Innovation

As healthcare technology rapidly evolves, medical education must keep pace. Integrating engineering design, experiential learning and industry partnerships into today’s medical school curriculum equips future physicians with the tools to develop innovative, life-saving medical devices and diagnostics.

A group of students sit around a four desks working on a technical project as part of the Physician Innovator Training Program
 

As a premier public academic institution driving breakthrough discoveries worldwide — and ranked #1 among higher education institutions for U.S. patents in 2023 — UC has the resources and talent to expand physician training into the healthcare innovation space. By blending clinical training with engineering design, the newly established UC Irvine Physician Innovator Training Program (PITP) is empowering a new generation of physician-pioneers to engineer solutions to healthcare’s most pressing challenges.

Concept to Commercialization

With nearly 100 startups spun out of UC Irvine, many of which have been acquired by large companies, our campus actively translates research into real-world solutions.

Translational Research Powerhouse

The Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, a leading translational research center and one of the first of a dozen research institutes housed under the School of Medicine, generates 40% of the campus’s royalty income while driving $56 million in combined research, licensing and clinical revenue.

Medical Education Technology

Since 2012, the School of Medicine has been consecutively recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for educational technology innovation. Leveraging digital technology allows us to continuously improve and expand upon the traditional medical school curriculum.

PITP provides our students with a unique and robust blend of clinical and engineering skills that sets them apart.

Engineering Foundations

Students conduct clinical needs assessments to identify healthcare challenges and build functional, engineering-driven solutions from day one.

Intellectual Property & Commercialization 

Students gain a deep understanding of what it takes to transition a project from prototype to intellectual property, including product testing, regulatory compliance, patent protection and startup launch and commercialization strategies.

Experiential Learning & Team-based Collaboration

Working with faculty and industry mentors, students embark on multi-year capstone projects to develop innovative tools and technologies that improve patient outcomes and advance the field of medicine.

Explore the full four-year curriculum breakdown on our Curriculum & Training page
 

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Industry Access

The Physician Innovator Training Program connects students with practicing physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors and patent attorneys who are actively shaping the future of healthcare. Throughout the program, they hear directly from innovators who have built companies, filed patents and brought devices from the lab to the bedside.

These real-world connections extend beyond the classroom. UC Irvine's proximity to a thriving Southern California medical sciences corridor gives PITP students unparalleled access to internships, mentorship and partnership opportunities that can accelerate their careers from day one.

Shot of Desktop Computer with virtual biomedical holographic human body scan. Sophisticated Programming is Visible on the Display with Additional Data. Medical Research Laboratory.

Physician-Entrepreneur/Startup Founder

Medical Device Research & Development Leader

Academic Medicine Clinical Innovator

Venture-Backed Founder or Advisor

Regulatory & Commercialization Specialist

Health Systems Innovator

Ready to engineer the future of medicine?

Join the first physician innovator training program in the UC system.

APPLY NOW
A scientist in a lab coat and gloves uses a micropipette to load a sample into a gel electrophoresis apparatus.