Professor Irwin McLean elected to Royal Society

Published On Thu 1 May 2014 by Roddy Isles

Professor Irwin McLean of the University of Dundee has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

Irwin McLean is Professor of Human Genetics, Scientific Director of the Centre for Dermatology and Genetic Medicine, and Head of the Division of Molecular Medicine at Dundee. He is a world renowned expert in the genetics of skin diseases, and his research group as identified the causative genes for more than 20 human diseases.

The Royal Society is the national academy of science of the UK and the Commonwealth and is one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of science. Professor McLean’s election brings the number of Fellows of the Royal Society at Dundee to eleven.

Reacting to the news of his Fellowship, Professor McLean said, “I am absolutely delighted to be elected as a Fellow of Royal Society. It is not only a tremendous honour for me but it also recognises the years of hard work and incredible successes of my research group that have put us at the forefront of skin disease research.

“I am also very grateful to the fantastic research community at the University of Dundee who have supported us in many ways over the years and to all my collaborators around the world who have supplied us with samples from patients with skin disorders.

“I would also like to thank the patients themselves. Without their participation we could not do our job of identifying the causes of debilitating skin diseases. We hope to repay them in the future by delivering new therapies based on our discoveries, which is now our number one priority.”

Professor McLean’s work is supported by a number of charities and trusts including the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, DEBRA, PC Project and Fight for Sight.

The aim of the Royal Society is to promote excellence in science. The Fellowship of the Royal Society is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Past Fellows and Foreign Members have included Newton, Darwin and Einstein.

For more information contact:
Roddy Isles
Head of Press
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN.
TEL: 01382 384910
MOBILE: 07800 581902
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk