chris christoffersen
Partner, Morgenthaler Ventures, Boulder CO

Chris currently serves on several corporate boards, including Tragara Pharmaceuticals, Asterand Corp.,Elcelyx and Nimbus Pharmaceuticals, and achieved successful exits with Avidia, Morphotech, Threshold, Scioderm and Nimbus. Previously, he served as the President and CEO of Ribozyme; Senior Vice President, Research at SmithKline Beecham; Vice President, Discovery Research at Upjohn and President, Colorado State University. He received the "Outstanding Research of Year" Award from the International Society of Quantum Biology, the "W. E. Upjohn Award" for contributions in biotechnology and a Lifetime Achievement Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Biosciences Association. Chris currently serves on several corporate boards, including Catalyst Biosciences, Galleon Pharmaceuticals, GlobeImmune, Stemgent, Tragara Pharmaceuticals and OptiScan and achieved successful exits with Avidia, Morphotek, and Threshold. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Cornell University, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Indiana University and an Honorary J.D. from Cornell College.