Noubar Afeyan — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2025.
Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a biotechnology company that has originated over 100 scientific ventures with over $90 billion in aggregate value.
Co-founder and Chairman of Moderna Therapeutics since 2010.
Co-founder and Chairman of Generate Biomedicines, Inc. since 2018.
Patented over 100 inventions.
Holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Biography

Noubar Afeyan is an American-Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist, best known for co-founding the biotechnology company Moderna through his venture capital firm, Flagship Pioneering. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1962 to Armenian parents, his family fled during the civil war in 1975. He earned his B.

Eng. in chemical engineering from McGill University in 1983 and a Ph.D.

in biochemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1987, becoming the first Ph.D.