Irwin McLean

Irwin McLean

Irwin McLean picture from the Royal Society
Born William Henry Irwin McLean
(1963-01-09) January 9, 1963[1]
Ballymoney, County Antrim[1]
Fields
Institutions University of Dundee
Alma mater Queen's University of Belfast (BSc, PhD, DSc)
Thesis Electrophoretic and immunological analysis of proteins in the muscular dystrophies (1988)
Notable awards
Website
www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/people/irwin-mclean

(William Henry) Irwin McLean (born 1963) FRS[3] FRSE FMedSci[2] is Professor of Human Genetics, Head of the Division of Molecular Medicine and Scientific Director of the Centre for Dermatology and Genetic Medicine at the University of Dundee.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Education

McLean was educated at Queen's University of Belfast where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology in 1985 followed by a PhD in 1988 for electrophoretic and immunological analysis of proteins involved in muscular dystrophy.[11]

Research

The McLean Lab investigates genetic disorders that affect the cells and tissues of the epithelium[12][13][14][15][16][17] and is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC)[18] and is also currently supported by a strategic award from the Wellcome Trust (2012-2017).[19]

Awards and honours

McLean was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014. His nomination reads:

“ Irwin McLean is distinguished his major contributions to our understanding of the genetic basis of heritable skin diseases. Of particular note is his discovery that null mutations in filaggrin, which are carried by 10% of the population, not only cause the dry, flaky skin condition ichthyosis vulgaris but also strongly predispose individuals to the most common skin disorder, atopic eczema, and the associated phenotypes of atopic asthma, allergy and hay fever. This research has revolutionized the field by showing that a skin barrier defect, rather than an immunological defect, is the primary cause of eczema and focused attention on improving barrier function to treat these common diseases. He was also the first to map and identify the causative genes for a number of monogenic cell fragility disorders affecting the epidermis, its appendages and other epithelial tissues, including pachyonychia congenita, muscular dystrophy with epidermolysis bullosa simplex and Meesmann corneal dystrophy. His work has established that a primary function of the intermediate filament cytoskeleton, its attachment structures and modifying proteins is to provide epithelial tissues with mechanical strength.[3] ”

References

  1. 1 2 McLEAN, Prof. (William Henry) Irwin. Who's Who 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 Professor Irwin McLean FRS FRSE FMedSci, The Academy of Medical Sciences
  3. 1 2 3 "Professor Irwin McLean FMedSci FRS". London: The Royal Society.
  4. ↑ Irwin McLean's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database, a service provided by Elsevier.
  5. ↑ List of publications from Microsoft Academic Search
  6. ↑ Palmer, C. N.; Irvine, A. D.; Terron-Kwiatkowski, A; Zhao, Y; Liao, H; Lee, S. P.; Goudie, D. R.; Sandilands, A; Campbell, L. E.; Smith, F. J.; O'Regan, G. M.; Watson, R. M.; Cecil, J. E.; Bale, S. J.; Compton, J. G.; Digiovanna, J. J.; Fleckman, P; Lewis-Jones, S; Arseculeratne, G; Sergeant, A; Munro, C. S.; El Houate, B; McElreavey, K; Halkjaer, L. B.; Bisgaard, H; Mukhopadhyay, S; McLean, W. H. (2006). "Common loss-of-function variants of the epidermal barrier protein filaggrin are a major predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis". Nature Genetics 38 (4): 441–6. doi:10.1038/ng1767. PMID 16550169.
  7. ↑ Smith, F. J.; Irvine, A. D.; Terron-Kwiatkowski, A; Sandilands, A; Campbell, L. E.; Zhao, Y; Liao, H; Evans, A. T.; Goudie, D. R.; Lewis-Jones, S; Arseculeratne, G; Munro, C. S.; Sergeant, A; O'Regan, G; Bale, S. J.; Compton, J. G.; Digiovanna, J. J.; Presland, R. B.; Fleckman, P; McLean, W. H. (2006). "Loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding filaggrin cause ichthyosis vulgaris". Nature Genetics 38 (3): 337–42. doi:10.1038/ng1743. PMID 16444271.
  8. ↑ McLean, W. H.; Irvine, A. D. (2012). "Heritable filaggrin disorders: The paradigm of atopic dermatitis". The Journal of Investigative Dermatology 132 (E1): E20–1. doi:10.1038/skinbio.2012.6. PMID 23154627.
  9. ↑ Weidinger, S; Illig, T; Baurecht, H; Irvine, A. D.; Rodriguez, E; Diaz-Lacava, A; Klopp, N; Wagenpfeil, S; Zhao, Y; Liao, H; Lee, S. P.; Palmer, C. N.; Jenneck, C; Maintz, L; Hagemann, T; Behrendt, H; Ring, J; Nothen, M. M.; McLean, W. H.; Novak, N (2006). "Loss-of-function variations within the filaggrin gene predispose for atopic dermatitis with allergic sensitizations". The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 118 (1): 214–9. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2006.05.004. PMID 16815158.
  10. ↑ "Molecular Dermatology: Methods and Protocols". doi:10.1007/978-1-62703-227-8. ISBN 9781627032261.
  11. ↑ McLean, William Henry Irwin (1988). Electrophoretic and immunological analysis of proteins in the muscular dystrophies (PhD thesis). Queen's University of Belfast.
  12. ↑ Research in the McLean Lab, University of Dundee
  13. ↑ Nomura, T; Sandilands, A; Akiyama, M; Liao, H; Evans, A. T.; Sakai, K; Ota, M; Sugiura, H; Yamamoto, K; Sato, H; Palmer, C. N.; Smith, F. J.; McLean, W. H.; Shimizu, H (2007). "Unique mutations in the filaggrin gene in Japanese patients with ichthyosis vulgaris and atopic dermatitis". The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 119 (2): 434–40. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2006.12.646. PMID 17291859.
  14. ↑ Basu, K; Palmer, C. N.; Lipworth, B. J.; Irwin Mclean, W. H.; Terron-Kwiatkowski, A; Zhao, Y; Liao, H; Smith, F. J.; Mitra, A; Mukhopadhyay, S (2008). "Filaggrin null mutations are associated with increased asthma exacerbations in children and young adults". Allergy 63 (9): 1211–7. doi:10.1111/j.1398-9995.2008.01660.x. PMID 18307574.
  15. ↑ Palmer, C. N.; Ismail, T; Lee, S. P.; Terron-Kwiatkowski, A; Zhao, Y; Liao, H; Smith, F. J.; McLean, W. H.; Mukhopadhyay, S (2007). "Filaggrin null mutations are associated with increased asthma severity in children and young adults". The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 120 (1): 64–8. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2007.04.001. PMID 17531295.
  16. ↑ Henderson, J; Northstone, K; Lee, S. P.; Liao, H; Zhao, Y; Pembrey, M; Mukhopadhyay, S; Smith, G. D.; Palmer, C. N.; McLean, W. H.; Irvine, A. D. (2008). "The burden of disease associated with filaggrin mutations: A population-based, longitudinal birth cohort study". The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 121 (4): 872–7.e9. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.01.026. PMID 18325573.
  17. ↑ Bisgaard, H; Simpson, A; Palmer, C. N.; Bønnelykke, K; McLean, I; Mukhopadhyay, S; Pipper, C. B.; Halkjaer, L. B.; Lipworth, B; Hankinson, J; Woodcock, A; Custovic, A (2008). "Gene-environment interaction in the onset of eczema in infancy: Filaggrin loss-of-function mutations enhanced by neonatal cat exposure". PLOS Medicine 5 (6): e131. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050131. PMC 2504043. PMID 18578563.
  18. ↑ UK Government research grants awarded to Irwin McLean, via Research Councils UK
  19. ↑ Wellcome Trust strategic awards 2013
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