Ashot Papoyan Advances Biotech in US and Armenia

Papoyan organizes the experiments of the lab in San Francisco, which tests whether the computational predictions are correct in real life. This proves to the world the reliability of the simulation process or tools that the company has developed. He said that the proof of concept, making a prediction, synthesizing molecules, then doing the experiments in the lab, will take roughly six months. Many such tests must be done so Papoyan said it will take two to three years of such testing of predictions to create a good foundation from which to move forward.

Giving Back

Dr. Papoyan has not only been a successful entrepreneur, but he also gives back to the Armenian community, both in the homeland and the United States. Since his first year at Cornell, he has been involved in giving grants to Armenian scientists through the Armenia National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF), founded by Cornell astrophysicist Professor Yervant Terzian. Proposals are sent from Armenia to peers in America for review, and the highest scored innovations receive grants. ANSEF is part of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), which is the umbrella organization of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of American for philanthropy to Armenia. Currently, he is the co-chair of ANSEF alongside Prof. Vatche Sahakian, a physicist at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. Throughout the past 25 years, over 3 million dollars have been given to Armenian scientists through these programs. Armenian science did not have a lot of funding, especially in the early years of ANSEF, which is why it is so important to give young Armenians the chance to really compete with the rest of the world through ANSEF.

Papoyan is a member of the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF), where he is involved in several educational initiatives, as well as biology related organizations. He works on coordinating classes in the mathematical and biological fields.

Dr. Papoyan also has some ideas for how Armenia can continue to be at the cutting edge of science. Computational biology is the “lowest hanging fruit” in his field, in the sense that it is both important and viable. Since the main requirement is software, there will not have to be the costs of new infrastructure or massive industrial needs. This is a prerequisite to moving on to experimental biology, which is more costly and does need the infrastructure of laboratories, freezers, animal housing, etc.

Appropriate available education is important to create the basis for Armenian advancements in science. Private companies have recently realized that Armenians need to have better education, so they are investing in internships and classes in order to improve the pipeline of a qualified workforce. However, Papoyan said that as a small country, Armenia cannot produce large numbers of specialists in all fields, so it needs to carefully choose particular fields on which to focus.

In addition to his support of Armenia, Dr. Papoyan is also active in the Armenian-American community. He is a member of the Knights of Vartan’s Ararat Lodge of Boston, but he also has made a great impact as one of the founding members of the Armenian Biotech Group of Boston. He established it together with his wife, Yelena Bisharyan and several colleagues in 2012 as an initiative to connect Armenians in this field. He said that “it started as lunch with a few friends” but it expanded into an organization of over 250 members. There are regular in-person meetings, every quarter, where a member makes a presentation about his work, talking about his company, various initiatives, and what can specifically be done for Armenia. The organization is intended to be especially impactful for young professionals in biotechnology field, allowing the rare opportunity for an intern to meet a CEO. Bisharyan at present is in charge of the organization.

Advice

“Love what you do and you will become outstanding” are the words Dr. Papoyan lives by. Rather than being a mediocre worker at an unsatisfying job, everybody has the potential to become excellent at something they love, he stressed. One of the biggest worries is finding support for taking a leap of faith, yet Papoyan said he felt that people’s nature is to be receptive and forthcoming, something Dr. Papoyan sees every day through the Armenian biotech group. Someone starting out should look for and use all possible resources, Papoyan said, which of course includes Armenian networking.

American citizens have the advantage of various resources through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs of the US government, Papoyan said. The government takes the risk of investing in small startups, and as a result of this the best innovations continually are created in America.

The easiest way to get started is to find a mentor, someone or something you would consider smarter than you, as early as possible, Papoyan advised. This doesn’t have to be a person – it could even be a philosophy or book. This holds true for both personal life and profession, he noted. After this step, with a continual desire to learn, everything will fall into place. As long as you love what you are doing, Papoyan concluded, “work” does not feel like a job, and you will never count the hours.