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Christy Shaffer elected to RTI International Board of Governors

RESEARCH TRIANGE PARK, NC – Christy Shaffer, Ph.D., a seasoned entrepreneur and biotech executive, has been elected to RTI International’s Board of Governors.  

Shaffer, a general partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, will join RTI’s 15 other board members who represent the University of North Carolina campuses, Duke University, and the business and scientific communities. 

Shaffer has more than 25 years of experience in the life science industry, including as a clinical scientist and international project leader. In 2016, she received the Lifetime Women in Business Award from the Triangle Business Journal and was named one of the top BizWomen to watch by The Business Journals.

Prior to joining Hatteras Venture Partners, Shaffer worked for Inspire Pharmaceuticals as its first full-time employee. As president and CEO, Shaffer was responsible for growing the company, including taking the company public in 2000 and raising more than $300 million in funds. Under Shaffer’s leadership, Inspire Pharmaceuticals was honored as “Best Place to Work for Scientists” by Science Magazine and “Best Place to Work in North Carolina.” Shaffer retired from Inspire Pharmaceuticals in 2010 and the company was acquired by Merck in 2011. 

Shaffer was a member of the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle to enhance entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which led to an enhancement of the innovation ecosystem. She serves on several non-profit boards, including the Chordoma Foundation, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the Burroughs Wellcome Regulatory Initiative Advisory board, the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Advisory board, the NC Science Festival Committee, and the Frank Hawkins Kenan’s Institute’s Advisory Board.

Shaffer earned her doctorate degree in pharmacology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and received her post-doctoral training at the Chicago Medical School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.