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Craig Lindsley, PhD

Dr. Craig W. Lindsley has over 22 years experience in drug discovery and development in both industry (Eli Lilly, Merck) and academia (Vanderbilt, WCNDD). A proven track record of delivering results; involved in the discovery of over 15 preclinical candidates, with 6 successfully entering clinical trials and several still in various stages of clinical development. At Merck, heI was responsible for a group of 22 BS/MS/PhD medicinal chemists and delivered six preclinical candidates for CNS and oncology programs. Currently, he is the Director of the WCNDD, and oversees 95 BS/MS/PhD scientists across medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology, DMPK, behavioral pharmacology and biomarkers, as well being responsible for raising a >$25 million dollar annual budget. While a leader in the WCNDD, he delivered 10 clinical candidates (with 3 more to be declared in 2021). He is the inventor of 109 issued US patents and 247 patent applications, author of >540 scientific journal papers, and invited speaker at over 100 international conferences. Craig is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience (2009-2020), interim Editor-in-Chief of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science (2020-2021) and current Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. He is the Recipient of major awards from ACS and ASPET, including induction into the ACS MEDI Hall of Fame (2021), and named a Fellow of the Royal Society for Chemistry, the National Academy of Inventors and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Craig received his B.S. in Chemistry from California State University, Chico, Chico, CA, his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.