Robert C. Allen, MD founded the Ocular Melanoma Foundation in 2003. 

An accomplished eye surgeon, a leading glaucoma specialist, a gifted teacher, and an ocular melanoma patient himself, Dr. Allen succumbed to the disease due to liver complications on March 24, 2005.

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Since being diagnosed with ocular melanoma in early 2000, Dr. Allen underwent an enucleation (removal) of his right eye and multiple chemo- and immunotherapy protocols at institutions around the country.  These included an innovative protocol at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC in which he underwent a percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) procedure to directly treat his liver with high-dose  malphalan, a chemotherapy drug.

Dr. Allen graduated from Duke University and the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He received training at Johns Hopkins University's Wilmer Eye Institute and was a fellow of Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary (MEEI) at Harvard Medical School. He has held faculty appointments through Harvard Medical School, Emory University, University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Medicine (formerly the Medical College of Virginia) where he was a Professor of Ophthalmology and Pharmacology as well as Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology until 2003. 

E-mail Grant

Grant Allen is a co-founder of OMF, a current board member, and lead for OMF's website development and fundraising efforts. 

Mr. Allen is a 2000 graduate of Duke University where he majored in Civil Engineering and Economics.  He has a deep background in web design, Internet business creation, and telecommunications advisory work.  He has also worked with a number of young philanthropy organizations including International Cooperating Ministries (ICM) to improve their technology infrastructure and increase their organization's visibility and funding. 

Most recently with Dean & Company, a strategy consulting firm in the Washington, DC area, Grant is now pursuing his MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and completing internships at Liberty Associated Partners, a VC fund, and Microsoft Corporation.