Guide to UCSF Resources

UCSF has a wealth of resources for innovators and it’s not always easy to know which group does what, or whom to approach when. In addition to our own customized services for UCSF medical device innovators, Surgical Innovations helps guide our clinically busy faculty to the partner programs best positioned to help at each stage in development. 

Intellectual Property & Patenting

• Office of Innovation, Technology & Alliances (ITA). ITA is home to UCSF's technology transfer office. ITA will help assess the patentability and commercialization potential of a given invention and work with inventors through the process of patenting and licensing the invention. All inventions by UCSF employees must be disclosed to the ITA by state law. 
  • Technology Disclosure Forms

 Building a Team

• UC Berkeley –UCSF Master of Translation Medicine (MTM). MTM is a one-year master’s degree program that equips students with the skills and knowledge for translating medical innovations into clinical reality. Sponsoring an MTM capstone project is a great way to attract talented students to work on your medical device or health technology project. Capstone projects are solicited from UCSF, UC Berkeley, and the local medtech community annually in June. 
  • Project Submission Guidelines
  • Current and Past Projects

Intramural Grants

• See here.

Pediatric Devices

• UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium. The mission of the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium is to provide the infrastructure, expertise, and resources for device development to innovators seeking to solve urgent pediatric clinical problems by designing and developing novel medical devices.

Entrepreneurship Education

• Entrepreneurship Center. The Entrepreneurship Center offers entrepreneurship courses and networking opportunities for the local life science and health technology startup community.  Courses such as Startup 101 and Lean Launchpad for Life Sciences & Healthcare bring in seasoned angel investors, venture capitalists and other experts to help aspiring entrepreneurs validate their business models.

Starting a Company

• Startup in a Box. QB3’s successful Startup in a Box program provides founders with everything they need to create a startup, including legal help with incorporation, a commercial bank account, SBIR grant assistance, pitch deck lessons, and freedom-to-operate analysis.

Startup Support

• Rosenman Institute. The Rosenman Institute is QB3’s medical device arm, connecting device startups with seasoned industry professionals for mentorship and providing connections within QB3’s network of entrepreneurs and investors. The Institute also sponsors a seminar series and annual symposium.

Early-stage Capital

• Mission Bay Capital. Mission Bay Capital (MBC) is an independent venture firm focused on making pivotal, early stage investments in bioscience companies emerging from the University of California. Its incubator, QB3@953, provides state-of-the-art facilities for bioscience startups a stone’s throw from UCSF’s Mission Bay campus.