The USC Coulter Translational Research Partnership Program supports and funds translational projects that focus on applying developed technologies to solve an unmet or underserved clinical need. Project proposals at all stages of development from concept to implementation are invited for assessment, although the program does not fund discovery research (the creation of new knowledge). The USC Coulter Program supports project teams that are interdisciplinary in nature and include faculty members from the Viterbi School of Engineering and clinical faculty from the Keck School of Medicine.

Proposals are reviewed and funding selections are made by the USC Coulter Oversight Committee (OC). The USC OC includes entrepreneurs, accomplished scientists and clinicians, as well as representatives from the venture capital and industrial communities. Project proposals are evaluated on the basis of their clinical merit, their potential health care impact and significance, their timeline and pathway to commercialization, and most importantly their potential for obtaining further financial investment to translate the particular solution to healthcare.