William Henry Irwin McLean (born 1963) is an Irish geneticist who is emeritus professor of genetic medicine, at the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee.

[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] McLean was educated at Queen's University of Belfast where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in microbiology in 1985 followed by a PhD in 1988 for electrophoretic and immunological analysis of proteins involved in muscular dystrophy.

[11] The McLean Lab investigates genetic disorders that affect the cells and tissues of the epithelium[12][13][14][15][16][17] and is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC)[18] and the Wellcome Trust.

His nomination reads: Irwin McLean is distinguished his major contributions to our understanding of the genetic basis of heritable skin diseases.

His work has established that a primary function of the intermediate filament cytoskeleton, its attachment structures and modifying proteins is to provide epithelial tissues with mechanical strength.