Allison is originally from Sterling, Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to earn her Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering.

In her work, Allison uses naturalistic assessment techniques such as cognitive systems engineering, to characterize the role of automation in exploration medicine. Allison conducts an experiment with human participants interacting with varying levels of automation and diverse information streams at different stages of information processing to characterize the potential role of automation for a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use case.

From MIT, she completed a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioastronautics/Medical Engineering and Medical Physics through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, with a research focus in human-automation teaming for extreme medicine. She is also a NASA Johnson Space Center Graduate Pathways Co-Op student.