Deborah Collyar's Biography

Deborah Collyar, President, Patient Advocates In Research

Deborah Collyar has been a leader in cancer patient advocacy since 1991, utilizing successful business, leadership, IT and communication skills to bridge research gaps between science, medical providers and patients. Her patient advocacy work encompasses many diseases, programs and policies at grassroots, national and international levels. She also gives guidance to organizations, institutions, universities, cancer centers, non-profits, government agencies, companies, and most importantly, to patients. Ms. Collyar founded the PAIR international network, helped initiate the NCI SPORE program and served as Program Director for their Patient Advocate Research Team (PART) Program. She also started patient advocacy in many cooperative groups and cancer centers, and has helped plan national and international biobanks. Deborah has also served on many committees and boards, including: the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) program, and Board of Scientific Counselors; Princeton Physical Sciences in Oncology Center (PS-OC); AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Stakeholder Council; as Chair of the CALGB Committee on Advocacy, Research Communication, Ethics, and Disparities (CARE); and as Vice Chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance) Publications Committee. Deborah and her husband have survived 3 cancers.