Dr Alexandra Corbett completed her Bachelor of Science Honours in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (DMI) at the University of Melbourne in 1998 and PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute between 2001-2003, studying targeting antigen to DCs. Following two postdoctorals at Lions Eye Institute/UWA studying viral immune evasion molecules, and at Bio21 using mass spectrometry to identify MHC peptides, Alex returned to DMI and Professor Jim McCluskey’s labatory in 2012. Her current focus is on mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells). Following the identification of MAIT antigens and development of specific reagents, Alex now aims to define the role of MAIT cells in infection and inflammatory diseases.
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Key Achievements
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Alex’s studies have been recognised by academic prizes, scholarship for Honours and PhD, and a CRC studentship. Alex held a UWA Faculty Fellowship (2005-2006), and her second postdoctoral was supported by ECR and Arthritis Australia grants and a Career Interruption Fellowship (2010). She is Chief Investigator on two NHMRC Project Grants on MAIT cells in human disease (CIA), and on the structural recognition of MAIT cell antigens (CIB). Alex has authored key papers in each of her positions, including two recent Nature papers, and is an inventor on two patents describing the identification of MAIT antigens and tetramer reagent development.
Publications
Research Groups
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McCluskey Group
MAIT cells respond to precursors of riboflavin, allowing the immune system to detect microbial invaders. The McCluskey group aims to understand their role in infection/inflammatory conditions and is tackling this question using mouse models, human tissue analysis and structural biology.
If you are interested to collaborate with us, please, feel free to get in touch. Please note that the human and mouse MR1 tetramers developed in our laboratory can now be ordered through the NIH tetramer core facility.
Lab Team

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Trust postdoctoral fellow
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ARC DECRA Research Fellow
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Criselle D'souza
PhD Student
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Lyudmila Kostenko
Research Assistant
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Bronwyn Meehan
Research Assistant
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Michael Souter
Honours Student
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Lars Kjer-Nielsen
Research Officer
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Bonnie van Wilgenburg
Visiting Research Officer
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Troi Pediongco
Research Assistant
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Freya Harewood
PhD Student
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Michael Souter
PhD Student
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Shihan (Tony) Li
PhD Student
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Xin Yi Lim
Honours Student
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Robyn Esterbauer
Honours Student
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Dr Alexandra Corbett Sub-Group
Alex co-supervises PhD students Criselle D’Souza, Huimeng Wang and Freya Harewood, and works with other members of the McCluskey lab on various aspects of MAIT biology. Alex has established key collaborations with a number of clinicians and other researchers to analyse MAIT cells in human disease.
Lab Team
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Criselle D’Souza
PhD students
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Huimeng Wang
PhD students
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Freya Harewood
PhD students
Full University of Melbourne profile