Esteemed Dr. Noubar Afeyan Addresses Belmont Hill and Winsor Communities

Dr. Noubar Afeyan recently spoke to the Belmont Hill and Winsor communities in a webinar during which he also answered questions submitted by students.  Dr. Afeyan is founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a company that conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability. An entrepreneur and biochemical engineer, Dr. Afeyan holds more than 100 patents and has co-founded and helped build more than 70 life science and technology startups during his 33-year career. He is co-founder and chairman of the board of Moderna, the pioneering messenger RNA vaccine company addressing the global COVID-19 pandemic, and serves on the boards of several private and public companies. He is the father of a Belmont Hill graduate ('16) and three Winsor graduates ('08, '10, and '13). This virtual event was held in collaboration with Winsor and was open to members of both school communities. More than 700 people registered for the event.

After introductions by Sarah Pelmas, Head of School at Winsor, and Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School at Belmont Hill, Dr. Harry Goldberg, chair of the Belmont Hill science department introduced Dr. Afeyan and moderated the conversation. Dr. Goldberg noted that questions submitted by students would deal with the biological basis of viral infection, future goals and expectations, and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Afeyan set the stage by talking about setbacks in his career and how they ultimately led to growth. “The only failure is the failure to try,” he stated. “We need to make peace with the fact that disappointment usually is what precedes success.”

You can enjoy Dr. Afeyan’s talk in the included video.