UCLA’s Center for Advanced Surgical & Interventional Technology (CASIT) is collaborating with more than two dozen academic and industrial centers to establish a Center to Stream Healthcare in Place (C2SHIP) academic hub at UCLA.
First selected as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program in 2021, C2SHIP has received a $4 million NSF grant, along with additional support from industrial members, to advance its initiatives. It unites six leading academic institutions—UCLA, University of Arizona, University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, University of Missouri, and University of North Dakota—with over 20 industry partners, to boost innovation in healthcare solutions.
Ultimately, C2SHIP aims to empower individuals to manage chronic diseases at home by enhancing technology readiness, improving access to high-quality care, and bringing healthcare beyond hospital walls.
UCLA’s effort will be spearheaded by Bijan Najafi, professor of surgery at UCLA Health and UCLA CASIT’s research director. The team will initially focus on developing next-generation in-home healthcare solutions, such as testing wearable devices and smart home systems in real-world environments, and possibly launch related clinical trials in the coming months, he said.
“At UCLA, we are dedicated to transforming healthcare by pioneering the development and deployment of cutting-edge wearable, portable, and implantable medical technologies, as well as artificial intelligence-driven data analytics and visualization tools,” Najafi said. “Our mission is to enhance technology readiness for deployment in routine care—extending beyond hospital walls to empower proactive disease management, precision surgery, and seamless transitions from hospital to home. We strive to support the aging population and individuals with chronic illnesses by fostering a ‘care-in-place’ ecosystem that integrates remote monitoring, intelligent decision support, and patient-centered care solutions.”
While the center provides all UCLA faculty with the opportunity to receive pilot funding from industrial members associated with C2SHIP, the initial core UCLA faculty members of the center include Dr. Peyman Benharash, professor-in-residence of surgery and bioengineering and CASIT’s executive director; Dr. Areti Tillou, professor and chief of trauma, and CASIT Education director; Dr. Alexandra Zindman, clinical instructor of internal medicine and a general internist at UCLA Health; Dr. Allison Ramsey, health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine in the division of pulmonology and critical care; Dr. Aksone Nouvong, health sciences associate clinical professor of vascular surgery, and Dr. Vincent Rowe, professor of surgery and chief of the UCLA Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.
Through strategic partnerships with C2SHIP’s network of academic institutions and industry leaders, the UCLA team will foster cross-disciplinary collaborations between medical and engineering schools, accelerating knowledge transfer from bedside to bench and back, Najafi said.
“By engaging directly in clinical trials, designing and executing pilot studies, and addressing unmet clinical needs, we will guide industries in refining and scaling their medical devices and support solutions for broader healthcare impact,” he said. “Our vision is to reshape the future of digital health and connected care, ensuring that innovative medical technologies lead to tangible improvements in patient outcomes, healthcare efficiency, and quality of life.”
