Biography

Dr. McLean took the road less travelled by, to become a pathologist…and it has truly made all the difference.  A dentist by training, Dr. McLean completed 5 years of dental public health practice as a National Health Service Corps Scholar in New Mexico before entering Texas A&M University College of Dentistry’s oral & maxillofacial pathology residency program in 2016.  She came to love head & neck pathology during her anatomic pathology rotation in residency, during which she enjoyed learning from Dr. Justin Bishop.  She finished residency in 2019, becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology and a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology.  Dr. McLean completed her MS degree at Texas A&M during the following year while working as Dr. Bishop’s research assistant.  She returned to UT Southwestern in 2021 as faculty after an invaluable year as a Clinical Instructor in head & neck/endocrine pathology at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.  Dr. McLean greatly enjoys teaching and sharing her unique oral pathology perspective.  Her main research interests include infectious processes of the sinonasal tract, and molecular characterization of odontogenic tumors and salivary gland tumors.

Education
Dental School
Oregon Health & Science University (2011)
Graduate School
Texas A&M University College of Dentistry (2019), Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology

Research Interest
  • HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer
  • Molecular profiling of odontogenic tumors
  • Oral cancer and precancer

Professional Associations/Affiliations
  • American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology (2010)
  • International Academy of Oral Pathology (2019)
  • North American Society of Head & Neck Pathology (2018)