Noubar Afeyan

Noubar Afeyan is an American-Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding the pioneering messenger RNA company Moderna through his venture capital firm, Flagship Pioneering, and for co-founding humanitarian projects such as the Aurora Prize and The Future Armenian. A biochemical engineer, Dr. Afeyan holds more than 100 patents and has co-founded more than 70 life science and technology startups during his 36-year career.

Prior to founding Flagship Pioneering, Dr. Afeyan was the founder and CEO of PerSeptive Biosystems, a leader in bio-instrumentation that grew to $100 million in annual revenues. After PerSeptive’s acquisition by Perkin Elmer/Applera Corporation, he became senior vice president and chief business officer of Applera, where he initiated and oversaw the creation of Celera Genomics.

In addition to his role at Moderna, he is also co-founder and Board Chairman of Generate:Biomedicines, Tessera Therapeutics, Alltrna, Apriori Bio, and ProFound Therapeutics. Previously, he was a member of the founding team, director, and investor in highly successful ventures including Chemgenics Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Millenium Pharmaceuticals), Color Kinetics (acquired by Philips), Adnexus Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Affinnova (acquired by AC Nielsen).

Dr. Afeyan entered biotechnology during its emergence as an academic field and industry, completing his doctoral work in biochemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management from 2000 to 2016, a lecturer at Harvard Business School until 2020, and he now serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, the Institute’s governing body. He teaches and speaks around the world on topics ranging from entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development to biological engineering, new medicines, and renewable energy.

Dr. Afeyan’s commitment to improving the human condition through science and business goes hand in hand with social investments and a global humanitarian initiative. Together with his partners, he has launched philanthropic projects including the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, FAST Foundation, and the UWC Dilijan School. He is also a member of the board of trustees for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Afeyan was born in Beirut to Armenian parents and did his undergraduate work at McGill University in Montreal before completing his PhD at MIT. A passionate advocate of the contributions of immigrants to economic and scientific progress, he received the Golden Door Award in 2017 from the International Institute of New England in honor of his outstanding contributions to American society as a U.S citizen of foreign birth. He was also awarded a Great Immigrant honor from the Carnegie Corporation in 2016, received a Technology Pioneer award from the World Economic Forum in 2012, and was presented with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2008. In 2022, Dr. Afeyan was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.