In light of the fast pace of innovations linked to AV technology, the question arises as to the role academic research can play in the overall innovation ecosystem surrounding autonomous vehicles. To explore this question, the authors examined a body of 298 papers presented at the last 5 editions of TRB Annual Meetings (2014 to 2018), and selected using a list of queries related to AV technology (road vehicles only). The review examined the context of the research as well as its contents (including typologies for building blocks of knowledge and for technology readiness levels) and the nature of partnerships involved in the production of knowledge. Main findings are that American contributiors are prominent, followed by contributors from the Netherlands and China. The five more active institutions are four US universities and one Dutch university. As expected, the most productive authors belonged to the most active institutions. Very few contributions from the private sector were identified. Research on the vehicle and on operations still dominate, in most cases involving technologies at the stage of proof of concept. Research on demand is growing but still involves technologies with low levels of maturity. Governance is growing as a research focus (especially as real-life experiments develop) and involves technologies from low and high levels of maturity. National and regional agencies are the major funding partners of AV research. Academic research plays a supporting role in the AV innovation ecosystem, especially with regards to technological and operational developments. More research is needed on demand and governance.