Erienne Olesh

Erienne serves as the Executive Director of Student and Faculty Innovation, where she focuses on increasing the number of research based innovations that reach commercial markets through assisting university based startups with SBIR/STTR grants, startup strategies, customer discovery and more. Dr. Olesh is also the WV State lead for the NSF I-Corps program and WV PI for the NIGMs XLerator Network STTR grant. 

Previously, Erienne was Director of Vantage Ventures which focuses on scaling mature startup companies, attracting investments, and working across state agencies for economic growth. Erienne has been working in the technology commercialization and startup field since 2014 and has experience in IP strategy, funding, corporate partnerships and license agreements. 

During her PhD, Dr. Olesh helped start a Tech Scout program at WVU which enables students to gain hands on experience utilizing their scientific background and blending it with business expertise to identify and commercialize emerging technology. Her graduate work and publications are focused on neural networks, spinal and motor integration and neural reorganization, particularly relating to clinical rehabilitation and movement control. 

Erienne Olesh holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and an MBA from West Virginia University.