Dr. Samantha McLean

Biography

Dr Samantha McLean (PhD in Neuropharmacology, University of Bradford, 2010) is a Pharmacologist (University of Leeds, 2006). Sam is appointed as an Associate Professor in Pharmacology, Director of Admissions and Marketing for the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences and Deputy Director of Research at Health, Society, People and Place in the Faculty of Life Sciences. 

Sam is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK (2020). She has experience in leading, developing and accreditation of innovative programmes of study in life sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including MPharm (GPhC).

As Director of Marketing and Admissions, Sam is managing marketing and recruitment activities across all programme levels: MPharm, BSc Clinical Sciences, BSc Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science and a portfolio of postgraduate MSc and Research taught programmes in the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science, and the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics. Her outreach and recruitment agenda spans a variety of projects aimed at improving access to and widening participation in higher education among home students and managing strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders focused on recruitment across international markets. 

She is an external examiner at Kings College London for the MSc Neuroscience programme, Associate Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience Research and a member of the Pharmacy and Pharmacogenomics Working Group for the Genomic Medicine Service Alliance (Northeast and Yorkshire). As a Trustee and Board member of the Cellar Trust (a UK-registered mental health charity), Sam is responsible for the charity, it’s activities and management supporting people's mental health across the Bradford district, Craven and surrounding areas.

Research

Sam is an expert in developing preclinical models of psychiatry and behavioural paradigms to study novel receptor targets. She has experience in managing research projects within academia as well as commercial environments and collaborates with major pharmaceutical stakeholders focusing on research and development of antipsychotic and cognitive-enhancing drugs, including their regulatory (FDA) approval.

As a Research Fellow at Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research she has experience in applied health research related to mental health and pharmacogenomics. 

Sam has supervised 5 PhD students and led several MSc projects. She has acted as an independent chair, internal and external examiner for several PhD students. Her research has received funding from the Royal Society UK, Alzheimer's Research UK and Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.   

As deputy research director (Health Society People and Place) she is leading the integration of interdisciplinary research themes across the Faculty of Life Sciences, including postgraduate research programmes (PhD, MD).     

Current research projects include:

• Exploration of the role of glutamatergic pharmacology and receptor modifications underlying cognitive function in rodent models of schizophrenia
• Investigation of the importance of the biological rhythms and the dopamine system in cognitive dysfunction
• Validation of a stem-cell secretome as a therapeutic for neurodegeneration ·   
• Implementation of pharmacogenomic testing in mental health settings to inform and improve medicines optimisation and personalised prescribing
• Studies on students’ views about team-based learning and implications of online teaching.

Publications