Dr. Alyssa Tilly grew up in both Spruce Pine, NC and Emerald Isle, NC, before attending UNC for her undergraduate work in Anthropology. She then traveled south to medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before returning to UNC for combined Medicine and Pediatrics residency, a chief residency year, and fellowship training in both adult and pediatric palliative medicine. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, focusing clinically on palliative care for both adults and children.
Dr. Tilly’s interest in global health stems from her undergraduate studies in anthropology and, in particular, the intersection of culture and health. In medical school, she participated in the Himalayan Health Exchange and conducted research on the use of plastic bags for prevention of neonatal hypothermia in Zambia that led to a publication in the journal, Pediatrics. She continued to pursue her global health interests during residency and fellowship, traveling to Malawi frequently to work on a variety of educational, clinical, and research projects Specifically, she helped to plan and implement a pediatric acute care database used for quality improvement initiatives, formalize the curriculum for pediatric residents participating in clinical rotations in Malawi, and develop a global health simulation curriculum to help prepare medical students and residents for clinical work in resource-limited settings. She also served as the technical assistant for the development of the Scholarly Concentration in Global Health for the School of Medicine and currently serves as a student global health mentor. Her current research relates to expanding and enhancing palliative care services in Malawi for adolescents and young adults with cancer.
