Alyssa grew up outside of Philadelphia and studied biochemistry at Grinnell College in Iowa. She then moved to London to obtain a master's degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she completed a thesis project focused on trachoma control efforts in Uganda. Following her masters, she received an ORISE fellowship to work for the US Department of Health & Human Services in the Division of Blood & Tissue Safety, assisting with project management. She then returned to Philadelphia to attend medical school at Drexel University College of Medicine. During which, she participated in the CDC Hubert Global Health Fellowship, spending six weeks in Ghana assisting with compliance assessments for regional HIV laboratories. Following medical school, she completed Internal Medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she participated in the global health track and had the opportunity to rotate at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. Alyssa is interested in clinical epidemiology research focused on immunocompromised hosts and critical care ID. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, biking and playing board games as well as trying to keep the plants alive in her garden.