She became a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1946 and, while there, completed a doctorate in biostatistics in 1951.

[1] At Johns Hopkins, she became affiliated with the departments of biostatistics, epidemiology, population and family health sciences, medicine, and ophthalmology.

[2] The topics of her own research included the effects of low-level radiation on cataracts, skin cancer, and other health issues, and the history of food-borne diseases among Native American populations.

[3] Abbey taught over 4000 students at Johns Hopkins and was the mentor to over 700 graduate theses and dissertations.

[4] Former students of her include the following: Abbey became a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1976.