Evan Facher, vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and director of the Innovation Institute, added another title on July 1 — inaugural associate dean for commercial translation in the School of Medicine.
This new appointment formalizes the role Facher has played in the School of Medicine over the past several years in promoting the commercial and societal potential of faculty and student innovations and in working with regional businesses to enhance the life sciences innovation ecosystem in the Pittsburgh region, according to an announcement by Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences, and Rob Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research.
In his new role, Facher will continue this work with a stronger connection to the health sciences. He also will provide direct accountability to the commercialization needs of the health sciences, especially entrepreneurial activities to advance Pitt’s biomedical research into companies and therapies that benefit people in the region and around the world.
Facher has a long history of leadership in the biotech industry. Before coming to Pitt in 2014, he was president/CEO of SironRX Therapeutics, a private, clinical-stage company developing novel drug therapies. Prior to that, he worked in Bayer’s medical device division as general manager of its Pittsburgh interventional business.
He holds a Ph.D. in human genetics from Pitt and an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.