Dr. Ablon was born in Dallas Texas October 21, 1934. She received her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Texas in 1955, and an M.A. from the University of Chicago three years later. She was an NIMH fellow, and received her PhD in anthropology, also from Chicago, in 1963.

She was a research anthropologist in the School of Criminology at UC Berkeley from 1963-66, and worked for the New Mexico State Division of Mental Health 1966-67. In 1968 Dr. Ablon was appointed asst. professor of medical anthropology in the Dept of Psychiatry at UCSF, with a concurrent position as Instructor in criminology in the Extension Division, UC Berkeley, from 1965. In 1986 Dr. Ablon was appointed professor of the Medical Anthropology Program, epidemiology and international health, and psychiatry at UCSF. Her research interests include cultural values and mental health; family structure in alcoholism; North American Indians; urban anthropology, urban ethnic and racial minority groups; and action and applied anthropology, and she has published extensively in these areas.

Dr. Ablon is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and also of the Society of Applied Anthropology.