Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Partnership

AHN has been a CTSI partner since 2021 and is a health and wellness organization with over 300 clinical facilities, including hospitals throughout western Pennsylvania; Health and Wellness Pavilions; a comprehensive research institute; ambulatory surgery centers; home- and community-based health services; a group purchasing organization; and 2,600 affiliated physicians. AHN is an academic training center and one of the ten largest non-University Graduate Medical Education Sponsoring Institutions in the nation, with 560 residents and fellows across programs in more than 50 specialties. Highmark Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the parent company of Highmark Inc., AHN, and other businesses and employs more than 35,000 people serving millions of Americans across the country.

What We've Accomplished Together

• AHN’s clinical trials office has held joint meetings with Penn State and shared best practices in the efficient administration of both internal and sponsored research trials, thereby advancing translational science.

• We have jointly designed and implemented a clinical research course for students at four local Penn State campuses over the past five years. This program provides hands-on research experience through internships at AHN and Highmark Health. In addition, it has resulted in students being hired as full-time clinical research professionals.

• We have developed a collaborative and co-sponsored research pilot funding program for Highmark, AHN, and Penn State researchers looking to advance health.

• We have hosted a full-day seminar with 100 registered attendees from our organizations, intending to provide resources and services, and catalyzing opportunities for collaboration with Highmark and AHN real-world data.

• Penn State, Highmark Health, and AHN investigators have collaborated and leveraged CTSI resources and services, resulting in 24 external proposals.

Vision for Future Partnership

This partnership advances a vision for a rural health network with widespread reach across Pennsylvania, creating an opportunity to advance rural health. Highmark brings tremendous strengths in data science and informatics, data access to support collaborative research programming, and research matching to clinicians, trainees, and patient populations across their health system. Through this partnership, Highmark Health and AHN also provide valuable feedback on innovative research collaborations, methods, workforce development, and improving the integration of clinical research into healthcare practice across the state.