James Cloyd, PharmD

Dr. Cloyd received a BS in pharmacy from Purdue University and completed the combined PharmD/Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program at the University of Kentucky. In 1976, he joined the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy where he established a clinical practice, designed and taught a neurotherapeutics course, and initiated a research program in clinical neuropharmacology. In 2005 he was appointed to the Lawrence C. Weaver Endowed Chair in Orphan Drug Development and established the Center for Orphan Drug Research, whose mission is drug development for rare pediatric neurological disorders. In the College he has served as Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Associate Dean for Research.

Dr. Cloyd has published 100+ papers and trained 26 PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. He has co-authored 5 orphan drug applications including one for diazepam rectal gel (Diastat®) for which he played a lead role in its development. He is a member of the UMN Academy of Distinguished Teachers, has received the Outstanding Mentoring and Advising Award from the UMN Graduate and Professional Student Association and the UMN Clinical and Translational Science Institute Mentor of the Year Award. He serves on the FDA clinical pharmacology advisory committee and previously was a member of the American Epilepsy Society Board of Directors and the editorial board of Epilepsia. He is a recipient of the J. Kiffin Penry Award for Excellence in Epilepsy Care from the American Epilepsy Society, the Rho Chi Lecture Award, the Summer J. Yaffe Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the American Pharmacist Association Tyler Prize for Stimulation of Research.