Jun 16, 2026
Accelerating Industry Sponsored Research at UPMC: How the New UPMC Sponsored Clinical Trials and Partnerships Program is Improving the Sponsor Experience
UPMC convened industry leaders and clinical research experts for a webinar focused on how its evolving Sponsored Clinical Trials and Partnerships program is transforming the sponsor experience and accelerating trial execution.
If you missed the expert panel, watch a replay of the broadcast.
Please note: This webinar focuses exclusively on the industry-sponsored clinical trials process at UPMC and does not pertain to academic research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.
Expert Speakers
Moderated by Alexander Olawaiye, MD, the discussion featured leaders from across UPMC advancing industry-sponsored clinical trials, including Nicole Ansani, PharmD; Matthias Kleinz, DVM, PhD; Deepan Kamaraj, MD, PhD; Soun Khountham, MS, MBA; and Kristin Bialobok, MSN, RN.
Framed around acceleration, coordination, and long-term collaboration, the conversation highlighted how UPMC is modernizing industry-sponsored trials through more streamlined operations, stronger alignment across teams, and advanced real-world data capabilities.
UPMC’s Evolving Industry‑Sponsored Clinical Trial Model
Khountham opened the discussion by outlining how UPMC has restructured internal workflows to create a more efficient and predictable pathway for sponsors. Central to this transformation is a coordinated, systemwide approach across billing, compliance, contracting, and more – ultimately, reducing fragmentation and improving consistency across clinical sites.
“We have deliberately rebuilt that experience for sponsors,” said Khountham. She also highlighted the importance of access and navigation, adding, “With a coordinated point of entry, sponsors can come through one door, and we’ll route them to the right investigators, sites, and disease teams.”
These improvements are designed to deliver what matters most to sponsors: greater speed, predictability, and consistency, while also ensuring the same high-quality execution across UPMC sites.
Accelerating Prospective Clinical Trials
Building on this foundation, Bialobok and Khountham shared how these improvements are translating into faster activation of prospective trials. UPMC now activates approximately 200-250 industry initiated-sponsored trials annually, leveraging its scale to support complex, multi-site research across more than 25 departments, as well as UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
“We are now able to see where studies are in each lane of the process, with a goal of averaging 90 aggregate business days [approval time] for our sponsors,” said Khountham.
From an oncology perspective, Bialobok highlighted key workflow enhancements, including shifting from sequential to parallel processes and increasing contracting resources to reduce delays. “If we see a hold-up, we’re quickly reaching out to the PI or appropriate sponsor representative to keep things moving,” she noted.
Together, these changes are creating a more responsive and efficient experience for sponsors across UPMC’s research network.
Using Ahavi to Power Faster, Data-Driven Clinical Trial Decisions
Dr. Kamaraj highlighted the growing role of data in trial planning and execution, with a focus on Ahavi, UPMC’s real-world data platform. Leveraging secure, de-identified health data, Ahavi supports feasibility assessments, retrospective analyses, and insights across the patient journey.
“You can think about it anywhere from phase 1 to phase 4 trials,” Kamaraj said, underscoring the platform’s value across the development lifecycle.
He emphasized the ability to rapidly generate insights through Ahavi to better understand patient cohorts and inform study design. “The goal is to equip our industry partners with the answers they need, and to deliver them as quickly as possible — often within just a matter of weeks,” he said.
By enabling faster, data-driven decision-making and earlier collaboration, Ahavi can help sponsors optimize protocols, refine site selection, and design more efficient studies.
A Partnership Driven Vision for Industry Collaboration
Looking beyond individual trials, Dr. Kleinz and Dr. Ansani outlined UPMC’s vision for deeper, more strategic industry collaboration.
Dr. Kleinz emphasized UPMC’s commitment to accelerating innovation for patients, noting, “UPMC is always focused on bringing the best and newest solutions to our patients. Moving innovation to patients quickly isn’t without challenges, which is why we’re really looking to nurture and develop strategic relationships with industry, moving away from one-off trials to more holistic, long-term partnerships.” He added that leveraging UPMC’s data capabilities allows teams to anticipate challenges along the development pathway and ultimately improve therapy delivery.
Dr. Ansani reinforced this perspective, highlighting the foundational role of research in advancing care: “Clinical trials are the gateway to innovation in patient care, and we are committed to optimizing our partnerships with industry.” She emphasized that strong, aligned partnerships are essential to accelerating the development and delivery of new therapies, ensuring that innovation not only reaches patients faster, but does so in a way that is thoughtful and scalable across the health system.
Together, their remarks summarized a shared vision of deeper collaboration: one that aligns data, clinical trials, and innovation to deliver meaningful impact for patients.
Next Steps and Available Resources
- Watch the full webinar recording.
- Download our recent research reports:
- Learn more about Ahavi, the real-world data platform from UPMC Enterprises.
