Nancy Allen

Nancy Allen, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the intersection of inflammation, senescence, and stem cell biology in lung diseases. She holds certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine in Critical Care Medicine, Pulmonology, and Internal Medicine.

• Education:
• BS in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, UCLA (2005)
• PhD in Immunobiology, Yale University (2015)
• MD, Yale University School of Medicine (2016)
• Residency and Internship in Internal Medicine at UCSF (2017–2018)
• Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCSF (2021)

Dr. Allen’s research explores how stromal inflammatory signaling impacts lung resident lymphocytes and epithelial stem cell reservoirs in aging and disease. Her work has revealed mechanisms linking molecular clock desynchronization to inflammatory heterogeneity and identified sentinel cells critical for lung repair. She leads NIH-funded projects investigating stromal regulation of immune responses in emphysema and acute lung injury.

Her publications span topics like lung stem cell niches, progesterone-driven vascular changes in implantation, and cilia-dependent facial development. Notable awards include the Bakar Aging Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Nina Ireland Lung Health Grant.

• Grants:
• Role of stromal inflammatory signaling in aging lung lymphocytes (NHLBI 1K08HL169723-01, 2023–2028)
• Mesenchymal signaling in acute lung injury (NHLBI 1F32HL156452-01A1, 2022–2023)