Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Names Regina Yan Chief Operating Officer

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today announced the appointment of Regina L. Yan as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Yan will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations supporting PCORI's mission to fund research that provides patients and those who care for them with information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions.

As COO, Yan will oversee all aspects of PCORI's financial and administrative operations, including human resources, contracts oversight, compliance, facilities, budgeting, and information technology. Her appointment completes PCORI's executive team, which also includes Executive Director Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH; Deputy Executive Director and Chief Officer for Engagement Anne C. Beal, MD, MPH; and Chief Science Officer Bryan R. Luce, MD, MBA. Beal also had held the COO position; she will transition out of that post with Yan's arrival.

"Regina brings to PCORI an impressive record of leadership, a passion for operational excellence, and a commitment to making our organization stronger," said Selby. "She is a great fit for PCORI, and I look forward to working with her and the other members of our executive team to make our vision for patient-centered comparative effectiveness research a reality."

Yan has a successful track record helping large foundations and non-profit organizations develop the structure and capacity needed to operate more efficiently. She joins PCORI after serving as the first Chief Operating Officer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. There, she provided senior management oversight to finance, human resources, communications, publications, grants management, events, information technology, and facilities functions.  

"I am extremely excited to join PCORI and to help support its promise to make a long-term, meaningful impact on health care," Yan said. "I look forward to helping PCORI achieve its full potential."

Yan also served as Executive Vice President at the Eurasia Foundation and for more than a decade, she directed the foundation's general operations in more than a dozen countries and managed special projects, such as its economic education and research program, media viability fund, and small business lending program. She more recently served as Senior Advisor at the foundation, providing counsel on matters related to institutional development, governance, and programming.

In addition, Yan held various executive positions at IREX, an international research and education organization, where she provided management oversight to IREX's field operations in 22 countries and launched its programs in Asia. Prior to that, she managed international programs at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.

She currently serves as board chair of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), an international graduate economic program in Ukraine; a founding board member of the East Europe Foundation in Ukraine and Moldova and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

She received her bachelor's degree from Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., and her master's degree from the University of Hawaii.

About PCORI
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at www.pcori.org.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute