The California Medical Innovations Institute (CalMI2) was formed in July 2014 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization exclusively for research, scientific and innovation purposes. The basic premise for the foundation of CalMI2 is that an institute that functions as an “innovation engine” in collaboration with clinicians and industry will be very effective at clinical translation. Specifically, CalMI2 is dedicated to conducting basic and applied research to advance translation of diagnostics and therapeutics for the improvement of human health. The Institute fosters an innovative research environment with a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to the discovery process – bringing together physical and life science researchers, clinicians, engineers, and computational scientists to address the significant health care challenges of heart and vascular disease, gastrointestinal, obesity, and metabolic disorders through a multi-scale understanding of organ systems.