Local man part of DNA research

A Kalispell native is part of a team that is generating buzz in the world of DNA research.

Cory McLean, 28, originally from Kalispell, has been working on research at Stanford University that compares the human genome with the genomes of other animals.

McLean and fellow researchers Alex Pollen and Philip Reno identified 510 regions that are not present in human DNA but are part of the genomes of chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys and mice, all of which are genetically similar to people.

Their findings were published this month in Nature, a leading scientific journal. Since then, the group’s research has been talked about on news sites around the world.

Granted, much of that buzz in the press has centered around whether man’s ancient ancestor had spines on his penis as chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys and mice do.

McLean and his fellow researchers showed that humans lack the DNA needed to activate a gene that’s responsible for developing penile spines. Chimps, rhesus monkeys and mice have the necessary DNA.

But the research has greater implications than sensational speculation about genitalia, McLean said.

“Hopefully we’ve brought some attention to a new idea: Looking for human changes that occurred through loss of DNA,” he said.

When certain DNA is present in chimps, rhesus monkeys and mice, “that’s a strong indication that it was present in the ancestor of all those species,” he said. “It’s really hard to develop a brand new piece of DNA that’s functioning and looks identical to DNA in other species.

“The most probable explanation is [that particular DNA] was in the ancestor of all of them.”

Because chimpanzees are humans’ closest ape relatives, that DNA probably was present in chimps’ and humans’ common ancestor, McLean added.

Now that scientists can identify so much genetic data, one of biology’s major goals is to link specific changes in DNA to changes in visible traits in animals, he said. Scientists have mapped the entire genomes of chimpanzees and humans and now are studying the differences between the two species.

It’s fascinating work, but it isn’t what McLean originally planned to do.

He had known since the first grade, when his older brother, George, left for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that he wanted to follow in George’s footsteps. Their father, George Sr., was a dermatologist, and analytical academic subjects were emphasized in the McLean household.

“Our family always stressed science and math,” he said.

McLean’s life took a turn when, as a sophomore at Flathead High School, a close friend came home for Thanksgiving break. The friend was attending a preparatory boarding school in Carpinteria, Calif.

“He was raving about how it was a really great academic place, a really good place to get an education,” McLean remembered.

His friend’s enthusiasm piqued McLean’s interest, and the following year he transferred to the California school. From there, he went on to MIT, where he earned his master’s degree in theoretical computer science.

After graduating in 2004, McLean moved back to California, where he worked for a couple of years at a software company. But McLean wasn’t finished yet with graduate school; he wanted to get back to class and perhaps study medically oriented computer science.

His plans shifted somewhat when he started attending Stanford.

“I was really intrigued by computational biology,” McLean said. That field involves “comparing genomics of different species and how that has led to differences in evolution and development.”

Opportunities abound for integrating biological knowledge with computer science, he said. Biologists are constantly learning more about human DNA and other species’ genetics; they need efficient ways to analyze that information, McLean said.

There is opportunity, too, for studying the genomics of disease, he said. That’s what McLean hopes to do in his postdoctoral work.

“It’s a really exciting field, and one that has a need for computational analysis,” he said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.