Distinguished Investigators

Frontier Voices

Voices from the frontiers of bioscience 

Allen Distinguished Investigators and leaders at the Allen Discovery Centers are passionate thought leaders, explorers and innovators who seek world-changing breakthroughs in bioscience. Their research runs the gamut from population behavior of bacteria to human brain evolution. What they share is a pioneering spirit and the ability to imagine new frontiers of science.

Hear from researchers supported by The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group via our latest Frontier Voices videos below. View all videos >>


Allen Distinguished Investigator Chenghua Gu, Ph.D., studies the brain’s blood supply system, an elaborate vascular network that closely interacts with both the immune system and the brain. Hear why she thinks the unknown questions are so important in science.

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American Heart Association-Allen Distinguished Investigator Jeffrey Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., is an engineer who studies the extracellular matrix, the special structure that surrounds all cells, in the context of heart disease. Hear why he's excited about the advent of patient-specific computational models to guide therapy.

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Baljit Khakh, Ph.D., studies astrocytes, a type of brain cell that is distinct from neurons and has been far less studied, and how they might be affected by Alzheimer's disease. Hear why Khakh's Allen Distinguished Investigator award is enabling him to take new risks in his research.

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Michael Rosen, Ph.D., studies phase separation in the nucleus of the cell, a process by which DNA organizes into different compartments, similar to the separation of oil and water. Hear how the Allen Distinguished Investigator award is accelerating his research.

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Matthias Stephan, M.D., Ph.D., is engineering new nanoparticle-based immunotherapies for lymphoma and other cancers with the hope of eliminating cancer cells more effectively with fewer toxic side effects than chemotherapy and radiation. Hear why his Allen Distinguished Investigator award came at the right time, with the right technology, to enable his work.

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Tony Wyss-Coray, Ph.D., studies the biological secrets of youth and rejuvenation in young blood as the leader of the American Heart Association-Allen Initiative team at Stanford University. Hear why he's excited about new technologies that are enabling his team to tackle questions that just a few years ago they couldn't even dream of.

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