When Rutgers University and RWJ Barnabas Health (RWJBH), New Jersey’s largest healthcare system, partnered as part of the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ-ACTS) to combine their clinical enterprises and jointly manage research activities, the two entities’ academic and corporate cultures were sometimes at odds with one another. Attempts to collaborate and merge university and health system practices were often challenging. While intended to help the health system to become more active in academic pursuits, the system’s commitment to research was a relatively new concept. Notably, RWJBH was initially reluctant to share data for competitive reasons, and much effort has gone into addressing privacy and security concerns. These concerns have required development of agreements and approval mechanisms that will enable Rutgers to use the health system’s data for clinical and investigative research. To read the full story.