Allen Christian is the deputy division leader for the Biodefense Division in Biology Biotechnology Research Program (BBRP) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has established himself as a leader in cancer research, bioengineering and forensic analysis.

After earning his Ph.D. in radiation biology, focusing on molecular cytogenetics and computer image analysis, Dr. Christian was hired at the Laboratory in 1998 as a postdoctoral fellow in BBRP. In 2000, he joined BBRP as a staff scientist and has held several leadership positions with BBRP as well as leading large biodetection projects in the Chemical Biological National Security Program (CBNP).

Dr. Christian's innovations have earned three R&D 100 awards for some of his diverse research. The 2001 award was for his work on gene recovery micro-dissection, which has led to the ability to create DNA libraries from samples. His second award in 2002 recognized his work on the development of in-situ rolling circle amplification, which allows detection of single DNA-based damage in cells. His third award in 2004 was for his work in gene silencing, opening a new path for cancer and infectious disease therapies.