Alyssa grew up in Long Island, New York. She went to Fordham University for undergraduate where she completed degrees in Biological Sciences and Theology, graduating as valedictorian. In college, she participated in research at the Bronx Zoo related to amphibian fungal infections and turtle herpesvirus infections. She remained in the Bronx for medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She moved to Philadelphia to complete her residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where she was part of the Medical Education track. Her experiences in residency influenced her to remain at Penn to pursue a career in infectious diseases. In her second year she is participating in the transplant infectious disease clinical track.