Cleveland, Ohio — [May 27, 2026] — Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a global nonprofit that supports science- and technology-based startups, today announced the launch of CDL-Cleveland in partnership with University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). The new site will host the CDL Healthcare Delivery stream, focused on early-stage ventures building technology to reduce costs, improve patient outcomes, and accelerate the adoption of innovation inside real clinical environments.
CDL-Cleveland is the first site in the CDL network to be anchored to a health system. Founders in the program will have access to UH as a living laboratory, giving them an opportunity to test their technologies with actual clinicians and caregivers, not in simulation. For healthcare ventures, the gap between a promising idea and a working solution almost always comes down to real-world validation and CDL-Cleveland closes that gap.
The site will be co-hosted with the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, which brings the management disciplines that determine whether healthcare technology gets adopted, how organizational change actually happens, and pathways for bridging technology and human judgment. For founders, that turns clinical validation into a path to a scalable company. For CWRU students and faculty, it is a front row seat to enterprise formation.
Healthcare Delivery Innovation Stream
The CDL Healthcare Delivery stream will support founders working alongside health system leaders and clinicians to identify, co-develop, deploy, and disseminate technologies that advance healthcare’s largest opportunities to create value — improving quality, enhancing access, and reducing costs. Ventures will move through CDL’s nine-month, objectives-based program, connecting with experienced mentors, clinicians, and domain experts, and will have the opportunity to directly engage with University Hospitals’ operations. By bringing founders and health systems into close collaboration, the program shortens the cycle from problem identification to real-world impact.
The stream also creates a direct pathway for UH caregivers and CWRU students to engage with entrepreneurship, learning what it takes to build and scale companies while contributing their clinical and research expertise to ventures that could change how care is delivered.
Quotes
“Closing the gap between science-based ventures and the clinical environment is one of healthcare innovation’s most persistent challenges. CDL-Cleveland is designed to reduce that distance by enabling founders to directly collaborate with University Hospitals clinicians and scientists, and the management expertise of Case Western Reserve University. We are thrilled to welcome CDL-Cleveland into our global network.“
Sonia Sennik, Chief Executive Officer, Creative Destruction Lab
“Healthcare is one of the most complex operating environments in the world, and that complexity is exactly why innovation struggles to move from concept to impact. By anchoring CDL-Cleveland within University Hospitals, we’re giving founders access to a real clinical system where ideas can be pressure-tested, validated, and refined alongside the clinicians who deliver care every day. This partnership isn’t about experimenting on the sidelines — it’s about accelerating solutions that can scale because they’re built in the realities of healthcare.”
Kipum Lee, PhD, President of UH Ventures
“Nurses understand better than anyone how systems, workflows, and technology shape the experience of care — for patients and caregivers alike. By investing in this work, we’re placing nursing at the center of healthcare innovation, where clinical insight, problem-solving, and leadership come together to build solutions that truly work. CDL-Cleveland creates a powerful pathway for nurses to influence how innovation is designed, tested, and scaled across healthcare.”
Michelle Hereford, MSHA, RN, FACHE, Chief Nurse Executive at University Hospitals
“What excites me most about CDL coming to Cleveland is the opportunity to move beyond promising ideas to solutions that can scale and measurably improve value in healthcare. At UH, we’ve built a highly systemized approach to care — reflected in our ISO 9001 certification — that allows innovation to be tested rigorously, and reliably. That makes University Hospitals an ideal living lab for founders who want to transform healthcare delivery in ways that truly improve outcomes, safety, and efficiency.”
Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals and the Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation
“Adoption in real clinical settings is often the Achilles heel of healthcare innovation. CDL-Cleveland is where Weatherhead’s management scholarship can drive enterprise formation—applied alongside UH clinicians, researchers, and founders to move validated science into companies that can scale. For our students and faculty, it’s a front-row seat to that work.”
Andrew Medvedev, Dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Applications for CDL-Cleveland are now open. Founders building science- and technology-based ventures in healthcare delivery and adjacent fields are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is [DATE] at 11:59 PM ET. Learn more and apply at creativedestructionlab.com/apply.
À propos de Creative Destruction Lab
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. Founded by Professor Ajay Agrawal in 2012 at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded and now has 16 sites across ten countries: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Halifax, Paris, Madison, Seattle, Estonia, Berlin, Melbourne, College Station, Milan, London, San Sebastian, and Doha. Learn more at creativedestructionlab.com.
About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of more than 20 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, NEOMED, Oxford University, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, and National Taiwan University College of Medicine. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Ohio’s only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,400 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national and international ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report and UK Brand Finance. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.
About Case Western Reserve University
As one of the fastest-growing research universities in the United States, Case Western Reserve University is a force in career-defining education and life-changing research. Across our campus, more than 12,000 students from around the world converge to seek knowledge, find solutions and accelerate their impact. They learn from and collaborate with faculty members renowned for expertise in medicine, engineering, science, law, management, dental medicine, nursing, social work and the arts. And with our location in Cleveland—a hub of cultural, business and healthcare activity—our students gain unparalleled access to academic, research, clinical and entrepreneurial opportunities that prepare them to join our network of more than 125,000 alumni worldwide. Visit case.edu to see why Case Western Reserve University is built for those driven to be a force in the world.
Press Contacts
Amarpreet Kaur • Creative Destruction Lab • amarpreet.kaur@creativedestructionlab.com
Ansley Kelm • University Hospitals • Ansley.Kelm@UHhospitals.org
Colin McEwen • Case Western Reserve University • colin.mcewen@case.edu
