Preston Klassen joined Regulus in 2023 and serves as president and head of research and development. He joined Regulus from Metacrine where he served as president and chief executive officer. From June 2016 to March 2017, he was chief medical officer of Laboratoris Sanifit S.L., and prior to that, was executive vice president, head of global development at Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Klassen also held several positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen Inc., including therapeutic area head for nephrology. Before joining Amgen, he was a faculty member in the Division of Nephrology at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Klassen has previously served on the board of Conatus Pharmaceuticals, Corvidia Therapeutics and Chinook Therapeutics. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from Central University of Iowa. Dr. Klassen received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine, fellowship in nephrology, and Master of Health Sciences degree at Duke University.