Patrick Kesslak

Dr. Kesslak has over 18 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with a focus on central nervous system disorders in neurology and psychiatry. As a program lead and major contributor, he has been involved in several INDs, BLAs, sBLAs, and NDAs that include advancing programs for the treatment of behavioral disorders in Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s disease, and approvals for the use of botulinum toxin for the treatment of spasticity. During his career, he has held positions at increasing levels of responsibility at Amgen, Allergan, Elan, Acadia, and most recently at Revance Therapeutics as Senior Director of Clinical Development and Director of Scientific Communication in Medical Affairs. His industry experience ranges from Phase 1 studies to Phase 3 and post marketing.

Before joining industry, Dr. Kesslak was on faculty at the University of California, Irvin, where he completed training and became a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and aging. As an original member of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia (now Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders), Dr. Kesslak was responsible for early studies on AD olfaction, brain imaging (PET and MRI), and clinical trials. His basic research focused on neural plasticity and behavior with early work in neural transplantation, animal models for aging and dementia, and activity induced neural plasticity.

Dr. Kesslak received his PhD in Psychology from Texas Christian University with a background in neuroscience, experimental and clinical neuropsychology.