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, Allison holds a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics. She completed her doctoral studies in the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) PhD program in 2024. HST is the academic unit of the Institute of Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). Her research focuses on human-automation teaming for extreme medicine. She is also a NASA Johnson Space Center Graduate Pathways Co-Op student.