Gary Koretzky, PhD, Advisory Council Chair
Interim Vice Provost for Research
Gary Koretzky is interim vice provost for research, a professor emeritus of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and a professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.
Koretzky oversees research and compliance for programs across Cornell’s Ithaca, AgriTech and Cornell Tech campuses, including more than 30 interdisciplinary research centers and specialized user facilities that support research collaborations, education, workforce development and fee-based use by companies. As interim vice provost, he reports to Provost Kavita Bala.
Koretzky previously served as dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and vice dean of research at Weill Cornell Medicine, then served as vice provost for academic integration at Cornell and as the founding director of the Cornell Center for Immunology. He helped establish Cornell’s COVID-19 testing program and was instrumental in steering the university through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Koretzky’s research focused on immune cell signaling, specifically the molecular events important for immune cell development and function, with a particular interest in the signaling events initiated by surface receptor engagement. He translated his basic investigation with explorations into the impact of modulating key signaling pathways in the host response to malignancy. His research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for three decades, and he’s served on multiple NIH councils, including the Council of Councils.
Koretzky has published more than 300 peer reviewed papers and has been recognized for his scientific contributions with election to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as a Master of the American College of Rheumatology. Koretzky served as president of the American Association of Immunologists from 2021-22 and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
Koretzky received his undergraduate degree from Cornell in 1978 and his medical degree and doctorate in immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. After residencies and fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco, Koretzky was on the faculty of the University of Iowa for eight years. Starting in 1999, he was a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and then vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He joined Weill Cornell Medicine in 2013.
Matthew DeLisa, PhD, Advisory Council Vice Chair
Professor, Director of the Biotechnology Insititute, Director of NYSTAR Center for Advanced Technology (CAT)
Matthew DeLisa received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1996; his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2001; and did postdoctoral work at the University of Texas-Austin, Department of Chemical Engineering. DeLisa joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University as an assistant professor in 2003. He was promoted to associate professor in 2009 and to professor in 2013, at which time he was named the William L. Lewis Professor of Engineering. He also recently served as a Gastprofessur at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) in the Institut für Mikrobiologie.
Matt’s research interests include bridging fundamental biological and chemical concepts with new tools in protein engineering for investigating and modifying living cells, for discovery, design, and production of useful products and processes in biology and medicine.
In 2019 Matt accepted the positions of Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Director of the Center for Life Science Enterprise, one of NY State’s Centers for Advanced Technology. He brings a wealth of experience in biology and engineering, teaching, research, and entrepreneurship in the life sciences.
Lou Walcer, Advisory Council Secretary
Director, Center for Life Science Ventures
Lou Walcer 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 long 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.