Dr. Allen is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah. She received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Self-Management of Patients and Families with Chronic Diseases in Vulnerable Populations at Yale University. She has 17 years of clinical experience in managing diabetes as a Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner. In 2015, she completed a Mini Fellowship in Cognitive Disorders at the University of Utah and worked as a nurse practitioner seeing patients with diabetes and dementia among other neurodegenerative diseases. She has worked extensively with the Hispanic/Latino Community since 2013 conducting community-based research with funding from PCORI, NIH, and private foundations such as the Association of Diabetes Care Education Specialists.