Clearside Biomedical, Inc. announced the appointment of Susan L. Coultas, Ph.D., as Chief Clinical Officer. In this role, Dr. Coultas serves as a member of the executive team and has overall responsibility for planning the initiation and execution of Clearside's clinical trials, including oversight of all clinical development operations. Dr. Coultas brings 35 years of experience in clinical development in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Kala Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the planning and execution of its clinical programs, resulting in two new drug application filings and product approvals. Dr. Coultas has worked with multiple ophthalmic companies, both internally and as a consultant, including Alcon Laboratories, Inc., CibaVision Ophthalmics, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, and Bausch+Lomb, Inc. Earlier in her career, as owner of InfoQuest Clinical Network, Inc., Dr. Coultas successfully identified, developed, and led a large network of clinical research professionals that managed numerous clinical trials in multiple systemic and ophthalmic therapeutic areas. Dr. Coultas earned a Ph.D. in Public Health, Epidemiology, from Walden University, a M.S. in Biology from University of North Texas, and a B.S. in Biology from Texas Wesleyan University.