Inside the Structural Reforms That Made IU Indianapolis a Translational Overachiever
How a resource-constrained university built a top-15 translation engine — and what other institutions can learn from it.
Indiana University, Indianapolis
49Institution Overview
#49In Universities
#119In Research Capabilities
#39In Entrepreneurial Readiness
#15In Market Translation
Top 20 Punching Above Their Weight
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana University, Indianapolis ranks 49th among universities in the Cure Innovation Index. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, the university stands out for its commercial orientation, with Market Translation placing 15th and Entrepreneurial Readiness ranking 39th among U.S. universities. Research Capabilities are more moderate, falling in the middle tier. The university supports this profile through an incubator and accelerator, biomedical entrepreneurship training, an MD/MBA dual degree option, faculty-led clinical trials, and a Clinical and Translational Science Award. A Medical Scientist Training Program anchors its physician-scientist pipeline.
Ranking Metrics
Research Capabilities
Indiana University, Indianapolis ranked below average for Research Capabilities, a measure of the foundational infrastructure and resources that enable an institution to conduct high-quality, innovative science. Out of the factors in this category, Indiana University, Indianapolis fared best in Cutting Edge Science.
Learn MoreEntrepreneurial Readiness
Indiana University, Indianapolis ranked below average for Entrepreneurial Readiness, a measure of whether the institution has built a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurship and whether faculty are engaged in and incentivized toward commercial activity. Out of the factors in this category, Indiana University, Indianapolis fared best in Ecosystem Support.
Learn MoreMarket Translation
Indiana University, Indianapolis ranked above average for Market Translation, a measure of how effectively a research institution moves scientific discovery out of the lab and into real-world clinical and commercial applications. Out of the factors in this category, Indiana University, Indianapolis fared best in Health Impact.
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Cure Innovation Index Methodology
From a pool of more than 6,000 institutions, the top 303 were ranked using two dozen indicators — from scientific foundation and lab infrastructure to patents, products, and partnerships — drawn from more than a dozen federal and commercial databases, an original audit of all institutions, and surveys of more than 3,300+ scientists, industry leaders, and biomedical experts.
Insights From the Cure Innovation Index
Explore by Category
Innovation isn't a single moment — it's an entire ecosystem. The Index evaluates institutions across two dozen indicators, grouped in three core domains that reveal the full picture of what it takes to turn groundbreaking science into real-world impact.
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