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Maria Freire
Photo: Rubenstein, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons31

Maria Freire

American health executive and life-sciences leader

Maria C. Freire is a Peruvian-American biophysicist and life-sciences executive. She is the founder and principal of The Freire Group, a strategic advisory firm serving life-sciences organizations, and in February 2026 was elected chair of the Biogen board of directors, effective after the company's annual meeting on 9 June 2026.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Maria Freire (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

About

She previously served as president and executive director of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) from 2012 to 2021, as president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation from 2008 to 2012, and as president and chief executive officer of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development from 2001 to 2008. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Freire works in global health, technology commercialization and intellectual property management, focusing on the discovery, development and access to medical interventions.

From Wikipedia’s article on Maria Freire, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Holdings

Stock this person has reported owning, from the forms officers and directors file with the SEC. See the biggest insider stakes.

Shares held

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Recent filings

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedCayetano Heredia University Bachelor of Science3 4
  • Date not recordedUniversity of Virginia Doctor of Philosophy3 4

A native of Lima, Peru, Freire earned a Bachelor of Science at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.

She received a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of Virginia and conducted postgraduate work in immunology at the University of Virginia and in virology at the University of Tennessee.

She is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship as well as two AAAS Congressional Science Fellowships.

From Wikipedia’s article on Maria Freire (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

  • 2012 to 2021Executive director, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health4 5
  • Since 2012Board member, Alexandria Real Estate Equities7
  • 2001 to 2008Chief executive officer, TB Alliance4 5
  • Date not recordedChief executive, TB Alliance6

Freire established and led the Office of Technology Development at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Freire directed the Office of Technology Transfer at the National Institutes of Health from 1995 to 2001, the office responsible for patenting, marketing, licensing, and monitoring activities for inventions arising from the NIH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

From 2001 to 2008, she was the president and chief executive officer of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development.

From 2008 to 2012 she was president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.

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The Freire Group and corporate boards

After leaving the FNIH in 2021, Freire founded The Freire Group, a strategic advisory firm serving life-sciences organizations. She joined the Biogen board of directors in 2021, serving on its Corporate Governance Committee and its Compensation and Management Development Committee. In February 2026, Biogen announced that Freire had been elected chair of the board, succeeding Caroline Dorsa, with the role taking effect after the company's annual meeting on 9 June 2026.

From Wikipedia’s article on Maria Freire (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornLima8

Philanthropy

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

Freire was president and executive director of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) from November 2012 to September 2021. She joined the foundation from the Lasker Foundation. Freire stepped down in September 2021.

From Wikipedia’s article on Maria Freire (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

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