Center Staff

Lou Walcer, Director, Center for Life Science Ventures

Lou Walcer ’74 was appointed in June 2011 as the first Director of the Center for Life Science Ventures at Cornell University. Lou came to this role with a track record of building and launching new products and new ventures as a Marketing/Business Development/New Product Development Director and Consultant to Merck, Schering-Plough and Wyeth; as Officer and Consultant to many Biotech/Medical Device companies; as President of the medical device drug delivery company Medimop USA; and as a Consultant to and Senior Commercialization Officer at Cleveland Clinic Innovations.

Lou earned a B.A. degree from Cornell University’s College of Arts & Sciences, and a Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School.

Ying Yang, Associate Director, Center for Life Science Ventures

Ying Yang was appointed in July 2019 as the Assistant Director of the Center for Life Science Ventures at Cornell University, and was promoted to the Associate Director in July 2022. She is also a lecturer in the Sloan Program in Healthcare Administration in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. Ying has extensive experience in healthcare consulting with expertise on topics ranging from corporate strategy, business development, to commercial excellence. Prior to joining the Center, Ying was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey and Company, primarily consulting life sciences companies across US, Asia and Europe.

Ying earned a B.A. and a M.A. degree from Fudan University, and a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School.

Yosey Hagai, Business Outreach Associate

Yosey Hagai was appointed in February 2023 as the Business Outreach Associate of the Center for Life Science Ventures.

Yosey brings to the team experience in lab research working with a variety of cells types, advanced microscopy and animal models. Furthermore, Yosey has extensive experience in leading unique ‘start to end’ projects that required ‘outside the box’ thinking.

Prior to joining the Center for Life Science Ventures, Yosey worked for several years as a project manager, overseeing projects of both security or technology nature and consulting to incubator projects to get them to the next level. Yosey earned a B.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering degree from The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a Master of Science degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Weiwei Yan, Lab Operations Manager

Weiwei Yan was appointed in May 2023 as the Lab Operations Manager at the Center for Life Science Ventures.

Holding a master’s and Ph.D. degree in Veterinary Medicine Science from Yangzhou University in China, Weiwei possesses extensive research and development experience in both academic and industrial settings. His expertise spans various fields, including microbiology, animal infectious disease vaccine and diagnostics development, protein expression and purification, DNA/RNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing, as well as animal experiments. With over a decade of experience as a lab manager in multiple research laboratories at Cornell University, Weiwei has a proven track record of ensuring smooth and efficient lab operations.

Shawna Robertson,  Administrative Assistant