Armen Shanafelt

Armen received his B.S. Degree in Chemistry and Physics from Pacific Lutheran University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his postdoctoral work at DNAX Research Institute, where he studied the structure-function relationships of cytokines and their receptors. He is an author on over 30 scientific publications and 19 issued US patents.

Armen Shanafelt brings over 20 years of operational experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostic businesses to Lilly Ventures. Since joining Lilly Ventures in 2009, Armen has led investments in several, and founded, Lilly Ventures' portfolio companies. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Aeglea BioTherapeutics (NASDAQ: AGLE) and Surface Oncology (NASDAQ: SURF), and has previously served on the boards of Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALRN), Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTGX), Sutro Biopharma (NASDAQ: STRO), HemaQuest Therapeutics and Symic Bio. Previous to joining Lilly Ventures, Armen held leadership and executive positions in the R&D organizations of DNAX Research Institute, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Roche Diagnostics, and Eli Lilly and Company.

Armen is a member of Kauffman Fellows Class 14 and served his fellowship at Lilly Ventures under the mentorship of Ed Torres.