The Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), have been following, with interest, the proposal to establish a new National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) and subsequent elimination of the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). We applaud the effort to improve coordination of translational research across NIH Institutes and streamline barriers to the effective commercialization of NIH-funded basic discoveries.