The University of Michigan Medical School Department of Learning Health Sciences (DLHS) is a first-in-the-nation basic science department focused on the sciences related to learning across multiple levels of scale (i.e. individual, group, organization, region, nation). DLHS works to improve health in systemic ways by advancing the sciences that make learning effective, routine, and efficient. We view learning as a continuous process of discovery and implementation, leading to improvement and innovation. As a department, we collaborate across disciplines to achieve three main goals: Our research programs generate new knowledge that can enhance learning at all levels of scale; Our educational programs train new researchers and practitioners who apply the sciences of learning; Our service programs help health systems transform into learning health systems and advance health professions education. We engage a unique community of scientists with wide-ranging expertise, including biomedical informatics, behavior change, organizational change theory, systems science, quality and performance improvement methods, translational research, bioethics, educational assessment and evaluation, pedagogical innovation and clinical simulation.