Pam J. McLean

Pam J. McLean, Ph.D. is a Professor of Neuroscience and Consultant in the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. She leads the Neurobiology of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Laboratory, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

• Primary Appointment: Consultant, Department of Neuroscience
• Institution: Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
• Research Affiliations: APDA Center for Advanced Research, Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS), Discovery and Translation Labs: Brain Research, Lewy Body Dementia Center Without Walls

Dr. McLean’s research centers on alpha-synuclein, a key protein involved in neurodegeneration. Her lab investigates how alpha-synuclein misfolds, aggregates, and propagates in a prion-like manner across neurons, contributing to disease progression. She employs human induced pluripotent stem cell models, viral vector-based systems, and animal models to study these processes.

Key research themes include:

• Prion-like propagation of alpha-synuclein
• Biomarker discovery using extracellular vesicles in blood
• Copathologies in neurodegenerative diseases
• Development of gene therapies and small molecules targeting alpha-synuclein

Her recent publications highlight work on alpha-synuclein seeding assays, transcriptional differences between Lewy body disease and Alzheimer’s, and novel methods for isolating plasma-derived extracellular vesicles for diagnostic use. These reflect a strong trend toward translational neuroscience, aiming to bridge molecular insights with clinical applications.

Dr. McLean is actively funded through multiple NIH grants, including from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She serves as Principal Investigator on projects related to functional assessment of pathological species in Lewy body dementia and contributes to the Mayo Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Her lab is committed to patient-centered research and training the next generation of neuroscientists, offering postdoctoral fellowships and research education programs. She collaborates extensively with experts in neuropathology, neurology, and translational biology.