Dr. McNally directs the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and is the Elizabeth J. Ward Professor of Genetic Medicine. She is a practicing cardiologist with expertise in cardiovascular genetics.  As a clinician, she developed one of the first cardiovascular genetics clinics in the nation, integrating genetic information into cardiovascular care. She has a special interest in neuromuscular diseases like muscular dystrophy and their accompanying cardiovascular complications.
 
Her research team has defined many genetic causes of cardiac disorders and investigated mechanisms of how these genetic variants act. Her team is using these genetic signals to drive the development of new treatments. Dr. McNally’s translational accomplishments have been recognized by the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  She serves on the Board of Directors for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and is past Chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences. She is a past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. She received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association.  In 2021, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. She is the first woman to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.