Dr. Alexis Colley is a General Surgery resident at UCSF. Raised in Santa Cruz, California, Dr. Colley pursued her undergraduate studies in Biology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. She then earned a Master of Science in Health & Medical Sciences from the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP), with a focus on patient-physician communication and ethics. Her research during medical school centered on patient engagement in decision-making regarding chemotherapy.

Dr. Colley completed a two-year NIH T32 research fellowship in Surgical Oncology. Her research interests include the implementation of Advance Care Planning (ACP) for surgical patients, enhancing surgeon-patient communication, and expanding palliative care education for surgical trainees. She is mentored by Drs. Elizabeth Wick and Emily Finlayson, as well as Dr. Rebecca Sudore, a specialist in geriatrics and palliative care.

Dr. Colley also completed fellowship training in Palliative Medicine at UCSF, where she received advanced clinical training in serious illness communication and comprehensive care for patients with serious illnesses and their families. Upon completion of her residency, she intends to pursue additional fellowship training in Colorectal Surgery.

Additionally, Dr. Colley has collaborated with colleagues from the Department of Surgery, including Drs. Lan Vu, Lucy Kornblith, and Mika Varma, to enhance support for surgical trainees who are starting families. Together with her mentors and co-residents, she helped create the Parenting in Surgery initiative.