James Cloyd, PharmD, has been selected as the 2017 awardee of the J. Kiffin Penry Award—to be presented at American Epilepsy Society’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., December 1-5. AES is a medical and scientific society with 4,000 members. Dr. Cloyd will be presented with the award on Monday, December 4, at 5:45 p.m. before the Epilepsy Therapies Symposium.
“Kiffin Penry was a visionary leader, a consummate educator, a caring physician, and a passionate advocate for those with epilepsy and their families. I was privileged to work with Dr. Penry on a number of educational programs during the early days of my career, where I saw firsthand his commitment to the highest standards of teaching, research, and clinical care. I’m honored to receive this prestigious award named for a man who so strongly influenced my professional life,” Dr. Cloyd said.
This award, originally funded by Abbott Laboratories and supported now by the AES J. Kiffin Penry Fund, was established in 1997 in honor of Dr. Penry’s lifelong focus on and genuine concern for epilepsy patients. It recognizes individuals whose work has had a major impact on patient care and improved the quality of life for persons with epilepsy. The award includes a $3,000 honorarium.
Dr. Cloyd is a Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor, the Lawrence C. Weaver Endowed Chair in Orphan Drug Development, and Director of the Center for Orphan Drug Research at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. He joined the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 1976, where he established a practice in an epilepsy clinic, designed and taught a neurotherapeutics course, and established a research program in clinical neuropharmacology with a focus on epilepsy.
Dr. Cloyd’s academic activities are based in the Center for Orphan Drug Research, whose mission is the development of drugs for rare pediatric neurological disorders. His recent research has focused on new
therapies for seizure emergencies. Dr. Cloyd is a member of the NeuroNext DSMB, the FDA clinical pharmacology advisory committee, and from 2010-13 served on the AES Board of Directors. He is also a member of the University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and has received the Outstanding Mentoring and Advising Award from the University Graduate and Professional Student Association as well as the University Clinical and Translational Science Institute Mentor of the Year Award. He is the recipient of the Rho Chi Lecture Award and the Summer J. Yaffe Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics bestowed by the Pediatric Pharmacotherapy Advocacy Group.
Dr. Cloyd received a BS in pharmacy from Purdue University and subsequently completed the combined PharmD/hospital pharmacy residency program at the University of Kentucky in 1976.