David Allard

Dr David Allard is a Lecturer in the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Exeter, leading a research group focused on molecular mechanisms of disease progression in cancer and diabetes since 2011.

His educational background includes a BSc (Hons) in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Bristol and a PhD in Cancer Studies from the University of Liverpool, followed by postdoctoral training at the ICRF Cambridge (with Prof Gherardi and Sir Stoker FRS) and University of Cambridge (Department of Medicine with Prof Bennett and CR:UK Cambridge Research Institute with Prof Tuveson).

Research centers on two interconnected domains: tumor progression biology examining how the microenvironment suppresses cancer growth through cell-surface signaling and intracellular pathways, and pancreatic beta cell biology investigating gene targets for diabetes therapeutics. The lab employs shRNA screening, high-throughput microscopy, and next-generation sequencing to identify functional genes in tumor-stroma interactions and beta cell protection mechanisms.

Dr Allard maintains significant international collaborations with Professor Tuveson (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Professors Klein and Szerkely (Karolinska Institute), Professor Gherardi (Italy), and Professor Frayling (University of Exeter Medical School), integrating clinical and basic science approaches across these projects.

As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), he contributes to academic teaching while advancing disease mechanism research through his Exeter-based laboratory established over a decade ago.