Associate Professor
Washington State University
Dr. MacLean, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences and the Associate Director for the Center for Reproductive Biology at Washington State University. His dissertation work characterized novel serine proteinase inhibitors produced by the ruminant trophoblast involved in maternal-fetal interaction. As a postdoc, he discovered the Rhox homeobox cluster and has led many studies examining their function in gametogenesis. Presently, his group is focused on the role of insulin signaling, a downstream target of RHOX factors, during implantation and the maintenance of pregnancy, primarily using conditional insulin receptor knockout mouse models and cultured human stromal cells.
Research Interests
• Human and animal physiology, molecular biology, and reproductive biology including spermatogenesis, ovulation, and the reproductive tract.
• Characterizing the role of the Reproductive homeobox X-linked (RHOX) transcription factor family in gonad development and fertility using transgenic mouse models.
• Tissue-specific and cell-type specific gene regulation of transcription factors by hormone receptors (e.g., AR, PGR, ESR1) that coordinate developmental and reproductive biology processes and how this may become corrupted as cells become cancerous.
• Examining the impact of conditional ablations of insulin receptors in male and female reproductive tissues to characterize the role of insulin signaling plays in gamete maturation, fertilization, implantation, pregnancy, and parturition.
• The molecular basis underlying fertility complications in individuals with metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes) to provide insight towards developing new treatments to improve reproductive outcomes.
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1Dg3j5-xhUIkX/bibliography/public/