Jeff Allen is President and CEO of Friends of Cancer Research (Friends). Friends is an advocacy organization based in Washington, DC that drives collaboration among partners from every healthcare sector to power advances in science, policy, and regulation that speed life-saving treatments to patients.
Jeff manages a leading non-profit cancer research policy and advocacy organization that focuses on innovative research partnerships and healthcare policy particularly related to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). His responsibilities include creating and implementing research and policy initiatives, organizational governance, coordinating staff for scientific and regulatory programs, fundraising, communications, policy activities, speaking at public symposia, and engaging with congressional leaders, federal officials, and scientific experts. Jeff has helped develop and lead collaborative initiatives aimed to advance and harmonize biomarker development, validate clinical trial endpoints, optimize use of real-world evidence, and establish innovative policies including the Breakthrough Therapy Designation.
Jeff previously worked as an Endocrinology & Immunology Research Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. This involved primary research focused on intracellular signal transduction related to growth regulation and apoptosis. He is also the co-author of over 50 peer-viewed publications in leading medical journals and policy publications and has been called to testify before Congress and contribute expertise to the legislative process on multiple occasions.
Jeff works with many other organizations including:
- Alliance for a Stronger FDA: Board of Directors member, Past President
- American Association for Cancer Research
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Foundation for the NIH: Biomarkers Consortium Cancer Steering Committee member
- Lung-MAP: Policy Leadership Committee member
- MCED Consortium: Executive Committee member
- National Cancer Institute: Director’s Consumer Liaison Group, Federal Advisory Committee Member
- President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST): Provisional Working Group Member, Advancing Innovation in Drug Development and Evaluation
Jeff holds a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science from Bowling Green State University.
