Cecelia C. Yates, Ph.D.

Dr. Yates is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, has over 15 years of research funding from NIH, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. She has submitted 16 invention disclosures in the last ten years, resulting in 11 U.S. patents and multiple international patents. Dr. Yates is the founder of FibroKine™ INC, inventor of Curostem™, a cellular bio-band aid therapy for the treatment of chronic wounds, and co-founder of Ocugenix, LLC. She formed partnerships to target organ fibrosis. She has received several awards, including the University of Pittsburgh Innovator Awards, the 2021 Emerging Innovator Award, 2022 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, and was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2021. Dr. Yates established the University of Pittsburgh’s first equitable and inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship initiative, PittEI3.