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Dr. Shaffer is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive and Ph.D. scientist with extensive experience in directing complex drug development processes for innovative products. She joined Inspire as the first full-time employee from Burroughs Wellcome in 1995 as Director of Clinical and was appointed rapidly to VP of Development Chief Operating Officer and in 1998 President and Chief Executive Officer and Board member. Under Dr. Shaffer's tenure Inspire became a publicly traded company in 2000 raising $76 million and completed four later equity financings raising an additional $279 million. Dr. Shaffer has received many notable awards including the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in 2004 and Business Woman of the Year in NC 2003 2004 by the Business Advisory Council in Washington DC. Under Dr. Shaffer's leadership Inspire was named one of The Scientist's Best Places to Work in Industry one of Business North Carolina's Best Employers in North Carolina and received numerous Best Places to Work Awards for employers in Research Triangle Park. Dr. Shaffer serves on the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Emerging Companies Section Governing Body and on the Foundation Board of Directors of the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Kresge Science Advisory Board for Meredith College. Dr. Shaffer served as Chair of the CED which is the oldest and largest organization of its kind in the US and was a past Board member of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. She also served on the Business Advisory Board for a local venture capital fund Hatteras BioCapital Fund LC in 2004 and was Co-Chair of the Triangle American Heart Association Walk in 2005. Dr. Shaffer received a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Tennessee. | 