The Lundquist Institute translates scientific discoveries into innovations that enhance human health, benefiting our community and the world. This mission comes to life through a focused commitment to advancing research into solutions that improve patient care and drive real-world impact.
This approach was recently recognized in the inaugural Cure Innovation Index (Index), which ranked The Lundquist Institute #24 in the nation among institutes and centers, #9 in the West, and #6 in California. TLI was also ranked 7th in the nation on the Index’s Entrepreneurial Readiness category, reflecting the TLI’s strong commercialization infrastructure and culture of innovation. The Index is the first data-driven framework to assess how effectively institutions translate research into real-world health impact, evaluating scientific strength alongside entrepreneurial capacity and market translation.
At The Lundquist Institute, entrepreneurial investigators work in close connection with clinical and community health needs, allowing real-world challenges to shape research from the start. This integrated environment supports not only breakthrough science, but also the ability to translate that science into therapies and technologies that improve health and save lives.
Case Study: Advancing a First-in-Class Fungal Vaccine
Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD – TLI Investigator and Executive Director of TLI’s Infectious Diseases and Immunology Innovation Hub – is the founder of Vitalex Biosciences, a company created to translate decades of infectious disease research into novel therapeutic solutions. Through Vitalex, Dr. Ibrahim is advancing VXV-01, a dual-antigen fungal vaccine candidate designed to protect against serious hospital-associated infections, including drug-resistant Candida and Gram-negative pathogens.
Developed using a proprietary Lundquist Institute technology platform, VXV-01 secured up to $40 million in non-dilutive funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support manufacturing, preclinical development, and Phase 1 clinical trials. The program is now poised to move from laboratory research into human testing, marking a critical step toward addressing a major unmet need in infectious disease.
Case Study: Detecting Heart Disease Before It Strikes
Matthew J. Budoff, MD, TLI Investigator and Director of Cardiac CT at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, has spent more than three decades advancing the science of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring, a non-invasive imaging technique that detects atherosclerotic plaque years before a patient develops symptoms. A past president of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography and one of the most cited researchers in cardiovascular imaging, Dr. Budoff has been instrumental in transforming CAC scoring from a specialized test into a cornerstone of preventive cardiology.
Through his leadership in landmark NIH-funded research, including the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), Dr. Budoff has helped establish CAC scoring as a guideline-recommended tool for cardiovascular risk assessment. Today, the test informs care for millions of patients, identifying those most likely to benefit from preventive therapy and giving clinicians a way to catch heart disease – the leading cause of death in the United States, before it strikes. Dr. Budoff’s ongoing work continues to expand the role of cardiac imaging in earlier, more personalized prevention.
Case Study: Expanding Access to Cardiac Care Through Innovation
Ruey-Kang Chang, MD, TLI investigator and founder of QT Medical, translated clinical insight into a breakthrough medical device platform designed to improve the detection and management of heart disease. Motivated by the challenges of obtaining accurateelectrocardiograms in infants, Dr. Chang developed QT ECG, a hospital-quality, FDA-cleared 12-lead cardiac monitoring system for home use.
The technology enables real-time, clinically reliable heart monitoring outside traditional care settings, with data securely transmitted to physicians for evaluation. By combining device innovation with digital health infrastructure, QT Medical has expanded access to high-quality cardiac diagnostics for patients ranging from newborns to adults.
Building on nearly 75 years of innovation, The Lundquist Institute is currently working to expand the capabilities that fuel entrepreneurship and translation. Priorities include strengthening commercialization pathways, deepening partnerships with industry and investors, investing in shared research and data infrastructure, and growing on-campus space to support startup formation and scale. These efforts are designed to move discoveries more efficiently from the lab to real-world application.
Recognition in the Cure Innovation Index underscores the strength of this model and reinforces the Institute’s momentum. With continued investment, The Lundquist Institute is positioned to advance more discoveries into solutions that improve lives around the world.
Join us in advancing the next generation of biomedical innovation and patient impact.