Dan McLean, B. Eng. Biosci.
daniel.mclean@utoronto.ca
Project Bio
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that slowly robs its victims of the ability to think, remember and understand. Alzheimer’s begins with forgetting simple things, like directions to the local coffee shop, but progressively worsens until even the most basic of tasks, such as brushing your teeth, become impossible. This devastating disease is made worse by the crude tools available to doctors when diagnosing and monitoring patients. Today, doctors rely upon observations of patient behaviour in order to diagnose and monitor the progression of Alzheimer’s. The limitations of simple observation are exasperated by inconsistent patient behaviour, which can change dramatically from day to day. Thus measuring the effectiveness of new therapies to treat Alzheimer’s is difficult and ultimately limits their approval.
Specifically, we propose to develop a derivative of a monoclonal antibody that will cross the blood-brain-barrier, thereby allowing specific binding with the senile plaques in the Alzheimer’s patient brain. By coupling a radioactive tracer to this molecule, we will use positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to determine the location of the Alzheimer’s plaques. In the same way PET images are used to monitor tumour growth in cancer patients, we propose to develop a molecule that will illuminate those regions of the brain in which Alzheimer’s is developing. The ‘senile plaques’ observed in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease comprise millions of tiny proteins, called amyloid-beta, that have been slightly misfolded. The location and amount of misfolded protein will be visualized using PET imaging, thereby giving the health care professional an unbiased assessment of the patient’s condition.
Employment and Education
McMaster University, 2001-2007
Bachelor of Engineering and Biosciences in Chemical and Bioengineering Polymer Materials and Manufacturing Stream Thesis Supervised by Profs. Kim Jones and Robert Pelton
Awards
NSERC Canada Vanier Scholar (2009-Present)
NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Graduate Award (2008-2009)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2007-2008)
