Patricia McLaughlin

Patricia McLaughlin is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at Pennsylvania State University. She is affiliated with the Penn State Cancer Institute, Penn State Neuroscience Institute, and the Cancer Institute's Next-Generation Therapies division. Her research focuses on the Opioid Growth Factor (OGF)-OGF receptor (OGFr) pathway, exploring its role in disease mechanisms and translational therapies for diabetes complications, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune disorders. Dr. McLaughlin has led a major NIH-funded project on endogenous opioid systems and heart development (1994–2000) and continues to investigate OGF's therapeutic potential through clinical trials and preclinical studies.

Her research interests include OGF-mediated inhibition of DNA synthesis, perturbations in the OGF-OGFr axis in diseases, and biomarker validation for disease progression. Recent work involves Phase I clinical studies of OGF in hepatocellular cancer and translational approaches to diabetic complications like dry eye and impaired bone composition.

• Awards: Basic Science Master Career Mentor Award (2019), multiple Dean's Awards for Excellence in Teaching (2021–2024).
• Grants & Funding: NIH, ADA, TSF (PA), and private foundations.
• Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Dr. Ian Zagon and others on OGF pathway research, leveraging confocal microscopy, animal models, and immunohistochemistry.