One of her most notable contributions was the publication of The Leguminosae, a Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation with her husband and fellow bacteriologist, Oscar N. Allen.
[2] Allen attended West Division High School in Milwaukee, where her interest in biology first began.
The lack of jobs due to the Great Depression encouraged her to return to school, and she received a Master of Science degree in bacteriology in 1930.
The book includes observations of tens of thousands of species of legumes and is the result of many decades of studies done by the couple around the world.
[citation needed] Allen distributed more than $16.5 million to the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which has been used for various projects around the campus.