James E. Chastain MS, PhD

James Chastain, Ph.D. is Executive Director, PK Sciences-Ophthalmology at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, MA. Formerly, he was Head of the Ocular Pharmacokinetics and Disposition department at Alcon Research, Ltd (a Novartis company)/NIBR in Fort Worth, TX. He received his BA in Chemistry and MS in Physical Sciences from the University of Missouri and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Dept. of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics at the University of Kansas Medical Center, followed by post-doctoral studies and research in the Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas.

He then served as Group Leader at Oread Laboratories and Argus Pharmaceuticals before joining Alcon, where he oversaw the characterization of small and large molecule preclinical and clinical DMPK/PD supporting the development of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Dr. Chastain specializes in ocular pharmacokinetics and drug delivery, about which he has published various journal articles and book chapters, and has presented in various forums, e.g. SOT, AAPS. He is a founding member and former chair of the AAPS Ocular Drug Delivery and Disposition Focus Group.