Lynn Marie Corcoran | |
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| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute |
| Thesis | Modes of activation of the cellular myconcogene in murine B and T lymphomas (1984) |
Lynn Corcoran is an American–Australian immunologist who is Professor of Immunology at theWalter and Eliza Hall Institute. Her research considers cancer, parasitology and immunology, with a focus onB cells biology. She was inducted into theVictorian government's Honour Roll in 2013.
Corcoran is fromMinnesota. She was an undergraduate student at theUniversity of Melbourne, where she was first introduced to genetic cloning.[citation needed] She was a doctoral researcher at theWEHI, where she studied lymphoid malignancies.[1] Her research implicated[clarification needed] that the c-myc transcription factor inT-cell lymphoma, and generated the Eμ-myc transgenic mouse (mice transgenic for the c-myc gene) that is widely used in studies of lymphocyte transformation. She remained at the WEHI as a postdoctoral researcher studying the genetics of malaria. Corcoran eventually left Australia, returning to the United States to joinDavid Baltimore at theWhitehead Institute.[1]
Corcoran returned to Australia and set up her own research group in the B-cell program.[when?][2][3] B-cells are white blood cells that are responsible for immunity. They mediate how effective vaccines are, and can cause certain cancers and autoimmune conditions if they are defective. Corcoran is interested in the biology ofB lymphocytes, effector cells of the adaptive immune system. They are generated in bone marrow, migrate to the periphery, and have specialist responses for different pathogens.[2] She has studied the immune system of koalas andTasmanian devils.[4] Tasmanian devil populations are threatened by the risk of contagious disease, in particular, the rapidly developing and fataldevil facial tumour disease. Corcoran studied the immune response of the Tasmanian devils after they were vaccinated against the disease. In October 2015, she worked with researchers at theMenzies Institute for Medical Research to monitor the immune response of vaccinated devils in theNarawntapu National Park, the first such study performed in the wild.[5]
From 2009 to 2019, Corcoran co-led the WEHI Committee on Equity in Science. She argued that historically women had been intentionally left out of professions like science, and that this entrenched stereotypes about who should and who should not become a scientist.[1] Guided by Corcoran, the WEHI made conference organisers work on gender balance in their scientific meetings.[1] In 2019, the WEHI opened the Lynn Corcoran Early Learning Centre, which was the first childcare centre at any Australian Medical Research Institute.[1][6]
Authority control databases: Academics |
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