Dr. Shadi Farhangrazi is a scientist and biotechnology executive whose career bridges molecular science, neuroscience, global health and company building. As Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors of SMDG, she leads the company’s scientific, translational and corporate strategy.

​

Dr. Farhangrazi has guided SMDG’s development from its founding science into a biotechnology company with proprietary peptide-based therapeutic platforms, an international intellectual property portfolio and a growing pipeline addressing neurological, inflammatory, rare pediatric and oncological diseases. Her leadership encompasses therapeutic strategy, partnerships, financing, organizational development and engagement with scientists, clinicians, patients and advocacy communities.​

Her commitment to rare and complex diseases is rooted in her earlier work at Washington University School of Medicine, where she held research and faculty positions in Neurology and Neurological Surgery and contributed to the Center for the Study of Nervous System Injury and the Spinal Cord Injury Research and Rehabilitation Program. She subsequently served as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for the Study of Orphan Diseases.

​

Across more than three decades, Dr. Farhangrazi has advised biotechnology companies, multinational corporations, governmental bodies and nonprofit organizations on innovation, scientific and commercial strategy, business development and global health. Her work has taken her from remote and underserved communities in Africa and Asia to universities, research parks and biotechnology centers across Europe and the United States. These experiences continue to shape her belief that advanced medicines must be scientifically rigorous, manufacturable, accessible and capable of reaching patients across different healthcare systems.

​

Dr. Farhangrazi previously founded and led Biotrends International, a global management consulting firm. She has also taught entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy and nonprofit management at the University of Denver and served as a Visiting Guest Professor at the Università degli Studi di Padova, where she co-developed and taught an interdisciplinary course connecting nanomedicine, industry and business.

​

She is an internationally experienced speaker and educator and has authored scientific papers, reviews, commentaries and book chapters. Her work and perspectives have been featured by Nature, National Public Radio and other scientific and public media.

​

Dr. Farhangrazi holds degrees in chemistry, mathematics and biochemistry, including a PhD focused on protein design and engineering from the Center for Design of Molecular Function, Utah State University, and an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She completed postdoctoral research and training in neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine and the University of California, Irvine.

​