# Noubar Afeyan

> Noubar Afeyan is the founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a company builder based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a co-founder and chairman of Moderna. Born in Beirut to Armenian parents, he studied at McGill and MIT before building a career in invention, entrepreneurship, and investment. He also co-founded the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and supports international education and scientific development in Armenia.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering; Co-founder and Board Chairman of Moderna
- **Organizations:** Flagship Pioneering, Moderna, Ring Therapeutics, Generate:Biomedicines, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), UWC Dilijan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston Symphony Orchestra
- **From:** Beirut, Lebanon
- **Nationality:** American-Canadian; Armenian heritage
- **Education:** BEng in Chemical Engineering, McGill University, PhD in Biochemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded and helped build more than 100 life science and technology startups, according to Flagship’s current biography., Inventor of more than 100 patents, according to Flagship., Built PerSeptive Biosystems to $100 million in annual revenue.

## Career timeline

- **1962** — Born in Beirut to Armenian parents.
- **1975** — Family fled the Lebanese civil war and settled in Montreal.
- **1983** — Graduated from McGill and began doctoral study at MIT.
- **1985** — Met David Packard at a conference in Washington; the conversation encouraged him to explore entrepreneurship.
- **1987** — Completed his doctorate at MIT.
- **1998** — Following the acquisition of PerSeptive Biosystems, became senior vice president and chief business officer at Applera.
- **2000** — Founded Flagship Pioneering, using the founding year stated in Flagship’s current biography.
- **2000-2016** — Senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management.
- **2014** — UWC Dilijan opened with Noubar and Anna Afeyan among its founding patrons.
- **2015** — Co-founded Aurora with Vartan Gregorian and Ruben Vardanyan.
- **2017** — Ring Therapeutics launched from Flagship; its founding team included Afeyan, Avak Kahvejian, and Erica Weinstein. FAST was also founded that year.
- **2022** — Elected to the National Academy of Engineering and awarded an honorary Doctor of Science by McGill.
- **2024** — Delivered MIT’s commencement address.
- **2026** — Published Choosing Science and was named the Simon Ramo Founders Award recipient.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and helped build more than 100 life science and technology startups, according to Flagship’s current biography.
- Inventor of more than 100 patents, according to Flagship.
- Built PerSeptive Biosystems to $100 million in annual revenue.
- Co-founder and chairman of Moderna.
- Co-founder of Ring Therapeutics, launched in 2017.
- Co-founder of Aurora and founding patron of UWC Dilijan.
- Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2008).
- Carnegie Corporation Great Immigrant honoree (2016).
- International Institute of New England Golden Door Award (2017).
- National Academy of Engineering election (2022).
- McGill honorary Doctor of Science (2022).
- Named 2026 Simon Ramo Founders Award recipient; award presentation was scheduled for October 4, 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Named the 2026 Simon Ramo Founders Award recipient, as announced by the National Academy of Engineering and shared by Afeyan on LinkedIn; presentation was scheduled for October 4.
- **2026-01** — Published the annual letter Choosing Science, advocating evidence, experimentation, support for research, and the combination of human, machine, and natural intelligence.
- **2025-11** — Spoke at Aurora’s tenth-anniversary prize ceremony on Ellis Island about his family history and gratitude in action.

## Links

- Website: https://www.flagshippioneering.com/people/noubar-afeyan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noubarafeyan
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NoubarAfeyan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/noubar-afeyan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-08