She has worked with Tobacco Research Programs since 2001. During this time, she completed her Masters of Public Health (2006), and Doctorate in Social & Behavioral Epidemiology (2012). She also completed a research fellowship on the topic of prenatal smoking in the Division of Reproductive Health at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Allen is interested in how gender/sex and sex hormones (such as progesterone and allopregnanolone) influence smoking behavior and smoking cessation outcomes. She is currently receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health "Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)" program, coordinated by the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health.