#342 $10 Million for a Cure: Donating Mr...

What would you do if you won $10 million? 

For Jeff and Jennifer Allen, the answer was simple: fund research to find a cure for their son’s rare genetic condition. 

In this episode of DNA Today, we’re joined by Jeff and Jen Allen; Jeff is known to over 100 million YouTube viewers as Player 831, the winner of MrBeast’s high-stakes reality series Beast Games—and the recipient of the largest game show prize in history: $10 MILLION. Alongside him is his wife, Jennifer Allen, who has been an equal partner in their advocacy journey every step of the way. 

But the Allens aren’t spending that money on luxury vacations or dream homes. Their mission is far bigger—and far more urgent.

Their youngest son, Lucas, lives with Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), a rare and devastating genetic disorder that impairs brain and muscle function. With fewer than 400 known cases worldwide and no approved treatments, CTD is under-recognized and underfunded. Jeff applied to Beast Games with one goal: raise awareness and secure funding to accelerate research. Against all odds, he won—and now, he and Jen are investing in the future of CTD research and other families like theirs.

In this episode, Jeff and Jen share their incredible journey—from the intensity of Beast Games to the emotional impact of Lucas’s diagnosis, and how they’re using their platform and prize money to drive life-changing research. 

• Behind-the-scenes stories from Jeff’s experience on Beast Games
• Jen’s perspective watching Jeff compete and staying grounded in their family’s mission
• What it was like for their son Jack to visit Jeff during filming and serve as his “coach”
• Why Jeff turned down offers of $1 million+ to stay in the game
• The emotional moment Jeff dedicated his final win to Lucas
• What Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD) is and how it affects Lucas
• The current research status and the massive funding gap for CTD
• How the Allens plan to use the $10 million prize to support research and gene therapy development
• Hope on the horizon: breaking news of the personalized CRISPR therapy and what this could mean for CTD
• The couple’s involvement with the Association for Creatine Deficiencies and broader advocacy work
• Advice for newly diagnosed families navigating rare diseases like CTD

Jeffrey Randall Allen, known as Player 831, made history as the winner of the inaugural season of Beast Games, the high-stakes reality competition series created by YouTube sensation MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson). In the show's dramatic finale, Allen secured a record-breaking $10 million prize—the largest in game show history—by correctly selecting the winning briefcase in a tense final game of chance .

His advocacy efforts are deeply personal. Allen's youngest son, Lucas, was diagnosed with Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), a rare genetic disorder affecting brain and muscle function.  With less than 400 cases diagnosed world wide, CTD has no known treatment, prompting Allen to raise awareness and fund research through his involvement with the Association for Creatine Deficiencies.

Allen applied to Beast Games with the primary goal of using the platform to raise awareness for CTD. Despite offers of up to $1 million to leave the competition early, he remained steadfast, ultimately winning the $10 million prize. He plans to use the funds to support clinical trials and research aimed at finding a treatment for CTD, which is estimated to require between $30 million and $40 million to develop. 

Allen resides in the Bay Area with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons, Jack and Lucas. Through his historic win on Beast Games, Jeffrey Randall Allen has not only changed his family’s life but also brought global attention to the fight against rare diseases—turning a personal struggle into a powerful mission for change. 

• Andrew Huberman on Creatine 
• “Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation.” Article that Jeff references from Scientific Reports. 
• Breaking news of the personalized CRISPR therapy in the New York Times. 
• “A programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity”. Landmark 2012 paper in Science about CRISPR that Kira references. 
• FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
• Association for Creatine Deficiencies
• Watch the Beast Games on Amazon Prime 

Follow Jeff on TikTok @legacy.831, Instagram @legacy.831, YouTube @legacy831official, and LinkedIn here. 

Contact the Allen’s public relation agent Natalie Beita at Element 23, her email is natalie (at) element23.co. 

Get ready, genetic nerds—another brand-new episode of DNA Today drops this Friday! You can always count on us to deliver fresh content every Friday. 

While you wait, why not dive into our library of over 300 episodes? Binge them all on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or wherever you love to listen—just search “DNA Today.”

Prefer watching? We’ve got you covered! For the past four years, we’ve been recording episodes with video, including some filmed at the iconic NBC Universal Stamford Studios. Check them out on our YouTube channel! 

DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen, MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM . Our Video Lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our Social Media Lead is Kajal Patel. Our Outreach Intern is Liv Davidson. And our logo Graphic Designer is Ashlyn Enokian, MS, CGC. 

See what else we are up to on Instagram, X (Twitter), BluSky, Threads, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNAToday.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNAtoday.com.