DEBORAH COLLYAR
Deborah has been a leader in patient engagement and advocacy since her first cancer diagnosis. She utilizes her business leadership, IT, and communication skills to bridge research gaps between scientists, medical providers, and patients. Deborah founded the Patient Advocates in Research (PAIR) international network in 1996, “where research meets reality” and consults with health research and patient communities. She has infused hundreds of patient advocates into research programs while delivering innovative ways to gather input from thousands of patients. Her work encompasses many diseases, programs and policies at grassroots, national and international levels, and emphasizes patient issues throughout early development and protocols, recruitment, retention, and results reporting.
WHAT I'M WORKING ON
STORMing Cancer
STORMing Cancer is a 5-year research program to study and understand how chronic (long-term) inflammation in the body can help cancers grow. We study stromal cells, which make up tissues around your organs and tumors, to learn how to prevent or shrink cancer growth.
Link to programAntibacterial Research Leadership Group (ARLG)
ARLG has over 100 leading experts working together to combat the antibacterial resistance crisis and improve patient care. We accomplish this goal through a scientific agenda that prioritizes areas of unmet needs, innovates clinical trial design, and informs practice-changing guidelines.
Link to programPatient Advocates In Research (PAIR)
Patient Advocates In Research (PAIR) injects patient realities into medical research and healthcare to create better research that gives people better results. We focus on the “bottom-line” of biomedical research - improving patients’ lives - by fixing problems and improving the information flow through the whole system.
Link to program