In his 20s, Joseph Allen helped run his father's investigative agency and started the process to become an FBI agent. When that didn't work out, he turned to another passion—science. Allen now runs the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where his research has helped nail down the connections between indoor air quality and human health and cognition. During the pandemic, Allen became a prominent voice on public health, writing dozens of editorials criticizing early guidance from health authorities and debunking misconceptions about how the coronavirus spreads. He has also been advising schools, businesses, and other organizations on how to make the air inside their buildings healthier, during the pandemic and afterward.

在他 20 多岁的时候，约瑟夫艾伦帮助经营他父亲的调查机构，并开始了成为联邦调查局特工的过程。当那行不通时，他转向了另一种激情——科学。Allen 现在在哈佛大学的 TH Chan 公共卫生学院负责健康建筑项目，他的研究帮助确定了室内空气质量与人类健康和认知之间的联系。在大流行期间，艾伦成为公共卫生领域的重要声音，撰写了数十篇社论，批评卫生当局的早期指导并揭穿对冠状病毒如何传播的误解。他还一直在为学校、企业和其他组织提供建议，以帮助他们在大流行期间和之后如何使建筑物内的空气更健康。