USC.edu

William Mcclure

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
Email wmcclure@usc.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Washington, 1/1964
  • B.S. Chemistry & Biology, California Institute of Technology, 1/1959

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Professor McClure researches the effects of mild prenatal stress on the development of adult rats. His interest in this work comes from the hypothesis that the devastating human disease, schizophrenia, is caused, at least in part, by a prenatal effect: a challenge presented to the mother causes changes in the structure of the brain, which in turn lead to development of the disease when the affected child reaches young adulthood. Professor McClure is currently studying these animals as a useful model of schizophrenia. In his latest experiment, he has examined the effect of puberty on the development of the adult deficiencies in neuroanatomy. He plans to further examine this model in the future and determine what cells are involved, the neurochemistry of the changes, and the behavior of the animals.

    • USC Presidential Medallion, , 2003
    • USC Associates Award For Excellence In Teaching, , 1995