Bio


Tayyeba K. Ali, MD, a Board Certified ophthalmologist, specializes in complex corneal disease and uveitis. She sees patients at Palo Alto Medical Foundation / Sutter Health in Sunnyvale, CA. Dr. Ali also works as a medical specialist on contract for Google.

Prior to completing two fellowships in cornea, external disease, refractive surgery and uveitis at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, ranked #1 eye hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Dr. Ali finished her ophthalmology residency at the Jones Eye Institute / UAMS. She earned her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and completed her undergraduate training in English literature and creative writing from Agnes Scott College.

Dr. Ali has received many academic and teaching awards including the Bascom Palmer Fellow of the Year Award and the Jone’s Eye Dean’s Faculty Award. She has delivered dozens of lectures on the national and international level and published numerous meeting abstracts and peer-reviewed journal articles.

As a second generation American, Tayyeba finds herself dwelling on migrant and refugee stories, their need for ethnic and religious identity, and the repercussions of these journeys. She is keenly interested in international medicine, resident education, health technology and taking a closer look at the moral crossroads we face in healthcare. She is the Associated Director for Pegasus Physician Writers at Stanford as well as the Senior Fiction Editor for the medical literary magazine, The Pegasus Review; she has a particular affinity for colons (grammatically, not anatomically, speaking) and semicolons.

Academic Appointments