Krystyn J. Van Vliet, vice president for research and innovation since 2023, has been named vice president for innovation and external engagement strategy for the university.

Dr. Gary Koretzky ’78, Cornell’s former vice provost for academic integration who helped steer the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, will come out of retirement to serve as interim vice provost for research for Cornell’s Ithaca, AgriTech and Cornell Tech campuses.

The new appointments, announced by Provost Kavita Bala and effective March 1, aim to bolster Cornell’s support of the university’s research, innovation and external engagement portfolios – including corporate, foundation and government partnerships – at a critical time.

“Cornell’s robust research portfolio deserves and requires a dedicated steward, and the need for innovation and external engagement will be essential in the years ahead,” Bala said. “Both positions are key to sustaining Cornell’s research leadership and excellence, public impact and our ability to translate discovery into applications and outcomes.”

As interim vice provost for research, Koretzky, professor emeritus of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, will oversee research administration for the Ithaca, Cornell Tech and AgriTech campuses, including more than 20 multidisciplinary research facilities, laboratories, institutes and centers.

“I am honored to have been asked by the provost to take on this responsibility,” Koretzky said. “Scholarship and discovery at Cornell are truly world class and, even now, when there are many questions regarding external support for research institutions that need to be resolved, I am confident that our faculty will have the resources they need to flourish. My goal will be to do whatever I can to support research on the Ithaca and Cornell Tech campuses and to effectively partner with our colleagues at Weill Cornell Medicine.”

Van Vliet, a materials scientist, biomedical engineer and entrepreneur who came to Cornell from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will support innovation, technology transfer and external partnerships across all campuses. Her portfolio will include Center for Technology Licensing activities and the Office of Corporate Engagement, as well as engagement with other public and private stakeholders to advance university-level initiatives and partnerships.

“This is an exciting time to connect Cornell’s broad history of innovations with a strategic approach to engaging corporations and collaborating with organizations of all types,” Van Vliet said. “I look forward to fostering faculty-led research that tackles today’s challenges, to supporting new advances and partnerships for positive impact and translation to society, and to working with leaders and teams across Cornell in this new way.”

Koretzky and Van Vliet will both report to Bala, with Van Vliet also reporting to Dr. Robert A. Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University.

“Biomedical research is poised to make huge gains in the coming years,” Harrington said. “Cornell’s support for innovation and technology transfer, as well as corporate partnerships that are built on shared values, will be crucial for Weill Cornell Medicine to reach its full potential to improve and save lives. We look forward to continuing to leverage Krystyn’s energy and expertise in her new role, as well as our work towards ‘One Cornell’ shared goals for research and scholarship.”

Van Vliet has been a champion for collaboration across research fields and has fostered faculty partnerships with companies, startups, research institutes and hospital systems. At Cornell, she has overseen a significant increase in funding for faculty-led research, rising nearly 12% in the last year, and she’s supported and shepherded numerous external partnerships, including participation in the U.S. Department of Defense’s Microelectronics Commons and the co-founding of the Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH). Van Vliet also serves on the board of the Empire AI Consortium, Inc., launched by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and in governance roles for regional U.S. Department of Commerce-sponsored programs that advance energy storage and semiconductor materials innovations. She currently serves as a working group member of the Industrial Advisory Committee, which advises the Secretary of Commerce on how to best implement the CHIPS Act.

Before coming to Cornell, Van Vliet led international research teams that spun off multiple companies and partnerships including biotech, and helped launch MIT’s Office of Strategic Alliances and Technology Transfer. She’s also the scientific co-founder of Artificial Axons Lab and holds several patents.

Koretzky helped establish the COVID-19 testing program and founded the Cornell Center for Immunology, in addition to his role as vice provost for academic integration, which resulted in more than $50 million in funding for partnerships between Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. He previously served as dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and vice dean of research for Weill Cornell Medicine. He served as the president of the American Association of Immunologists and the American Society for Clinical Investigation and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research on immune cell signaling has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for three decades, and he’s served on multiple NIH councils, including the Council of Councils.