Dr Kyle Matchett

Overview

Dr Kyle Matchett is a Lecturer in Molecular Immunology and Principal Investigator (PI) at the School of Medicine, Ulster University. Dr Matchett’s research is focused on understanding the molecular pathways that are perturbed by pathogenic drivers in childhood and adult acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and targeting these using both synthetic lethality and rational drug strategies. To do this, his lab utilises a range of genomic, molecular and biochemical approaches, including CRISPR-Cas9 engineering, high-throughput drug screening and advanced preclinical models.

Dr Matchett has been awarded >£1M in funding as PI since joining Ulster in October 2018, including grants from Novartis, Little Princess Trust and Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group. He is a PI on the recent €4M Strand III Higher Education Academy (HEA) North-South Award to the All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI), where he is a Steering Committee member. Furthermore, he has funded grants with collaborators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, and University College Dublin (UCD).

Dr Matchett published 17 papers in the recent REF2021 reporting period, including publication in internationally recognised journals, such as PNAS, Cancer Research, Stem Cells, Oncogene and British Journal of Haematology. His research has been recognised by a number of awards, including both the Faulty and Overall Champion Early Career Research Excellence Prizes by Ulster University (2019), Novartis Fellowship and Medal Award (2017) and the inaugural Prof John Fitzpatrick Prize by the Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) (2015). Dr Matchett sits on the Research Advisory Board for a leading UK cancer charity, is a member of the IACR Senior Council and is currently leading the Early Career Research Strategy Group at Ulster University as part of developing the new institutional strategy.

Dr Matchett teaches on both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Ulster University, across multiple modules. He is Course Director on the MBiolSci/MBiomedSci degrees, in collaboration with Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, and is Module Coordinator on four modules, including three with a specific research focus. Dr Matchett has a keen interest in leadership and supervision in higher education and has published the results of a School-wide study in this area. He completed his PGCHET in 2014 and was awarded a Fellowship of the Higher Education in 2015.

Prior to joining Ulster University, Dr Matchett completed his PhD and postdoctoral training at Queen's University Belfast, funded by Cancer Research UK, EU FP7 and Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI. His EU FP7 post involved collaboration and extensive travel with partner laboratories in Madrid, Innsbruck, Tel-Aviv, Vienna, Munich and Zurich. During this time, Dr Matchett played a key role in the development of novel EPO receptor antibodies with industrial partners Aldevron (Germany). He also led his own research which resulted in several publications.