Dan MacLean

Professor Dan MacLean is the Head of Bioinformatics at The Sainsbury Laboratory and an Honorary Professor in the School of Computing Sciences at the University of East Anglia. His research focuses on integrating computational science with genomic biology to address challenges in plant-pathogen interactions. He leads a team developing machine learning models, bioinformatics tools, and image analysis pipelines for analyzing high-throughput genomic, proteomic, and imaging data. His work includes projects funded by UK Research & Innovation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, such as the development of plant disease resistance genes and tools for mutation identification without reference genomes.

Key research areas include bioinformatics, genomics, plant immunity, and effector proteins. Collaborations span international institutions, with recent projects addressing rice blast fungus, stomatal immunity, and NLR receptor engineering. His group emphasizes applying computational methods to big data challenges in plant pathology and agricultural sustainability.

• Active Project: PIKOBODIES (2023–2028) – Engineering plant disease resistance genes using nanobody fusions.
• Notable Contributions: Developed DeepRedEff for effector protein classification and tools for mutation mapping in genomic data.