Dr. John R. Allen is recently retired from NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he served as the Program Executive for Crew Health and Safety and for the NASA Human Research Program, overseeing the space medicine and research activities for human space exploration. 

John received a B.A. in Speech Communication from the University of Maryland.  He received a Masters in Audiology/Speech Pathology from The Catholic University of America, and a Ph.D. in Audiology and Bioacoustics from Baylor College of Medicine. 

He served in the Air Force for 26 years, retiring in 2006 at the rank of Colonel.  During his USAF career he held clinical and research positions, consultant to the USAF Surgeon General in Audiology and Speech Pathology, commander of the USAF Medical Element, and was detailed to NASA HQ.  He began his career with NASA in 2006.

John likes to do gardening, writing, wood working, traveling, and wine tasting…in reverse order.