# Christopher P. Austin

> Christopher P. Austin is a scientist and executive who co-founded Vesalius Therapeutics and served as its founding CEO from 2021 to 2024. Formerly the founding director of NIH’s NCATS, he is now Senior Vice President, Head of R&D Technologies at GSK. He has also performed baritone roles with professional opera companies.

- **Role:** Senior Vice President, Head of R&D Technologies at GSK
- **Organizations:** GSK, Vesalius Therapeutics, Flagship Pioneering, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Human Genome Research Institute, Merck, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- **Education:** A.B. in Biology, Princeton University, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Postgraduate training; neurology resident and chief resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, Research fellowship in genetics, Harvard Medical School
- **Known for:** Helped establish NCATS and led the center from 2012 to April 2021., Founded and directed the NIH Chemical Genomics Center., Co-founded Vesalius Therapeutics with Doug Cole and served as founding CEO.

## Career timeline

- **1996–2002** — Worked at Merck, including research and leadership roles in genetics and neuroscience.
- **2002** — Joined NIH as senior adviser at the National Human Genome Research Institute.
- **2011** — Became inaugural director of NCATS’s Division of Preclinical Innovation.
- **2012–2021** — Served as the founding director of NCATS; departed in April 2021.
- **2018** — Won first place at NIH’s Got Talent with a selection from Carmen.
- **2021–2024** — Served as CEO-partner at Flagship Pioneering and founding CEO of Vesalius Therapeutics.
- **2022** — Vesalius publicly launched with a $75 million initial commitment from Flagship.
- **2024–present** — Senior Vice President, Head of R&D Technologies at GSK.

## Achievements

- Helped establish NCATS and led the center from 2012 to April 2021.
- Founded and directed the NIH Chemical Genomics Center.
- Co-founded Vesalius Therapeutics with Doug Cole and served as founding CEO.
- Member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Performed professional opera baritone roles and won NIH’s 2018 talent competition.

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — In a public LinkedIn post, Austin described meeting GSK R&D Technologies colleagues and collaborators and attending JPM2025.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/innovation/our-leading-scientists/dr-christopher-austin/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-austin-b23b43128/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CPAustinMD

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/christopher-austin
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15