Dr. Matt Atherton completed veterinary school at the University of Bristol. Following three years in mixed practice, Matt undertook a rotating internship at the Royal Veterinary College. Matt gained board certification in medical oncology following residency training at the University of Glasgow and was awarded a Master of Veterinary Medicine degree for research of the serum proteome in canine lymphoma. Subsequently he defended his PhD at McMaster University with data from this research enabling “first-in-human” oncolytic virotherapy trials for epithelial malignancies. Matt completed post-doctoral training at McMaster and the University of Pennsylvania where he studied novel approaches to cancer immunotherapy prior to starting a comparative oncology lab at Penn Vet in November 2022. The primary focus of the Atherton Lab is dissecting the interplay between the immune system and cancer with a goal of developing next-generation adoptive T cell therapies for hematologic malignancies, including lymphoma and histiocytic sarcoma, utilizing a One Health approach. As a clinician scientist Matt enjoys seeing general medical oncology clinics and is a member of the Comprehensive Care Team at the Ryan Veterinary Hospital where research generated in the lab is used to inform clinical trials for veterinary cancer patients.