We argue that clinical research plays a critical role in medical innovation, even in an era of burgeoning molecular science and data-driven methods.

We analyze patents and licenses from two prominent Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) over a 30 year period and link the hazard of licensing to the training of team members and leaders.

Controlling for technological, scientific and individual factors, clinicians are more likely to have licensed inventions than PhD researchers.

Team leadership by clinicians increases the rate of licensing, lending support to the hypothesized paradigm effect.

Inventions by teams that combine both are not more likely to be licensed, calling into question the translational model of combining expertise to bridge different domains.