 Translational research as a discipline has experienced explosive growth over the last decade as evidenced by significant federal investment and the exponential increase in related publications. However, narrow project-focused or process-based measurement approaches have resulted in insufficient techniques to measure the translational progress of institutions or large-scale networks. A shift from traditional industrial engineering approaches to systematic investigation using the techniques of scientific metrics and network science will be required to assess the impact of investments in translational research. This article was authored by Caleb Smith, Ruhi Baveja, Terry Grebe, and others.