Alton Gayton (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Virology department at Harvard Medical School / GSAS Division of Medical Sciences and is a trainee in the Leder Human Biology and Translational Medicine training program. He received his B.S. in Chemistry (Biochemistry track) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with Highest Distinction. In addition to being a recipient of several departmental and university awards, Alton was a Ronald E. McNair scholar. 

In undergrad, Alton worked for 2.5 years investigating the phosphorylation of citrate synthase in human tumorigenesis metabolic flux regulation and evaluating high-risk AGC kinase motif mutations in oncogenic proteins from cancer patients at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Alton spent the summer of 2018 researching the effects of lipid metabolism in breast cancer cells at North Carolina Central University, and the summer of 2019 investigating the potential role of bacteriophages on bacterial populations in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease gut at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Currently, Alton is working to define the composition and attributes of a successful CD8+ T cell response in the context of high-risk cervical HPV infection in Boston, MA, USA; Nairobi, Kenya; and Umlazi, South Africa. This work will inform immunogen design of a T cell inducing vaccine aimed to clear HPV infection, HPV-induced neoplasia and cervical cancer. Alton is also developing a tool aimed to better understand cellular antigen proteolytic processing and presentation.

Outside of the lab, Alton enjoys running, boxing and painting, and has developed bit of a green thumb for indoor gardening.