Research of Scientist Tyler Allen Yields Fascinating Insights into Cancer Cell Behavior

Growing up as a child in Houston, Tyler Allen was always inquisitive with a hungry mind for science. Now as a rising young scientist, he is using these traits to provide insight into the ways cancer cells behave and the way therapeutic stem cells move in the body — research that stands to yield powerful weapons in treating cancer and improving regenerative medicine therapies.

Tyler’s work in particular centers on studying how certain cancer and tumor cells exit the bloodstream to form new tumors, his discoveries have led to what is known as the “cancer exodus hypothesis.”

Earning his Ph.D. in comparative biomedical sciences from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine last summer, Tyler is currently a researcher at Duke University’s Cancer Institute. In an interview with North Carolina State College’s Veterinary Medicine News, he said:  “The thing that interested me about cancer was that the cells are not inherently evil. Cells are meant to grow and divide — so what they’re doing is doing their job extremely well, so well that it’s causing a tumor. To me, that is fascinating, and something I wanted to help answer: What’s going on here and what can we do about this?”

For his research, Forbes magazine named him to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, which highlights visionaries in 20 different industries. At 25, Tyler was one of the youngest included in the “Science” category. In addition to his Ph.D., he earned his Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Plant Biology from North Carolina (NC) State University.