Joseph Allen

Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science
Director of the Healthy Buildings Program

Research Interests

Dr. Joe Allen is an associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program, and coauthor of Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick—or Keep You Well. Dr. Allen serves on Harvard’s Presidential Committee on Sustainability, he keynoted the White House’s first-ever Indoor Air Quality Summit, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, served as Commissioner of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission and Chair of its Safe Work, Safe Schools, and Safe Travel Task Force. In 2023, Allen was featured on the 60 Minutes episode, The Air We Breathe, spotlighting the value of healthy indoor air quality for virus mitigation. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and regularly contributes to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.

Related Publications

Sachs, J.D., Karim, S.S.A., Aknin, L., Allen, J., Brosbøl, K., Colombo, F., Barron, G.C., Espinosa, M.F., Gaspar, V., Gaviria, A. and Haines, A., 2022. The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet, 400(10359), pp.1224-1280.

Allen JG, Ibrahim AM. Indoor Air Changes and Potential Implications for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission. JAMA. 2021 May 25; 325(20):2112-2113.

Morawska, L., Allen, J., Bahnfleth, W., Bluyssen, P.M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Cao, J., Dancer, S.J., Floto, A., Franchimon, F. and Greenhalgh, T., 2021. A paradigm shift to combat indoor respiratory infection. Science, 372(6543), pp.689-691.

Levinson, M., Geller, A.C., Allen, J.G. and COVID, T.L., 2021. Health Equity, Schooling Hesitancy, and the Social Determinants of Learning. The Lancet Regional Health-Americas, p.100032.

Allen JG, Macomber JD. Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity. Harvard University Press. 2020.

Allen JG, Macomber JD. Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick – or Keep You Well. Harvard University Press. 2023.

Allen J, Macomber J. What Makes an Office Building ‘Healthy’? Harvard Business Review. 2020.

Allen J. Designing buildings that are both well-ventilated and green. Harvard Business Review.

Macomber, John, Joseph G. Allen, and Emily Jones. “A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue.” Harvard Business School Case 220-065, March 2020

Allen JG, Waring MS. Harnessing the power of healthy buildings research to advance health for all. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2020 03; 30(2):217-218.

Azimi P, Keshavarz Z, Cedeno Laurent JG, Stephens B, Allen JG. Mechanistic transmission modeling of COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship demonstrates the importance of aerosol transmission. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 02 23; 118(8).

Sunderland EM, Hu XC, Dassuncao C, Tokranov AK, Wagner CC, Allen JG. A review of the pathways of human exposure to poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and present understanding of health effects. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019 03; 29(2):131-147

Cedeño-Laurent JG, Williams A, MacNaughton P, Cao X, Eitland E, Spengler J, Allen J Building Evidence for Health: Green Buildings, Current Science, and Future Challenges. Annu Rev Public Health. 2018 04 01; 39:291-308

Allen J. Stale Office Air Is Making You Less Productive. Harvard Business Review. 2017.

Allen J, Macomber J. What Makes and Office Building “Healthy”. Harvard University Press. 2020.

Allen J, Macomber J. Employers Must Ensure the Safety of Home Workspaces. Harvard Business Review. 2021.

Allen, J.G., MacNaughton, P., Satish, U., Santanam, S., Vallarino, J. and Spengler, J.D., 2016. Associations of cognitive function scores with carbon dioxide, ventilation, and volatile organic compound exposures in office workers: a controlled exposure study of green and conventional office environments. Environmental health perspectives, 124(6), pp.805-812.

Allen JG, Flanigan SS, LeBlanc M, Vallarino J, MacNaughton P, Stewart JH, Christiani DC. Flavoring Chemicals in E-Cigarettes: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione, and Acetoin in a Sample of 51 Products, Including Fruit-, Candy-, and Cocktail-Flavored E-Cigarettes. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 06; 124(6):733-9

Visit the Harvard Catalyst website for complete up-to-date publication list: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/4862#