Shawn Johnstone (Ph.D., FRSC) is a researcher in medicinal and synthetic chemistry. He joined X-Chem in 2021 as executive director of chemistry when it acquired IntelliSyn Pharma. Shawn was the director of chemistry at IntelliSyn Pharma for 12 years, where he led a wide range of drug discovery projects across therapeutic areas that include neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and metabolic disorders. He began drug discovery 25 years ago at AstraZeneca, working at its neuroscience sites in Canada and Sweden, and his first drug candidate was the “mode-selective” TRPV1 antagonist devoid of hyperthermia that reached Phase II. Currently, he leads teams that collaborate with major pharma and biotech in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., working with researchers, internally and externally, on complex pharmacological and DMPK challenges to collaboratively bring forward de-risked drug candidates, several of which are currently in Phase I, II and III clinical trials.