Alisa Wray
Associate Clinical Professor X, Department of Emergency Medicine
Associate Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
Biography
Alisa Wray, M.D., M.A.Ed., is Associate Clinical Professor X and Associate Program Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She also serves as Director of Clinical Skills Assessment and Course Director for Clinical Foundations I-IV. Wray received her M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine and completed her emergency medicine residency at UC Irvine, where she served as Chief Resident. She completed a fellowship in Multimedia Design Education Technology and earned an M.A. in Educational Multimedia from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
Wray has developed extensive educational infrastructure at UC Irvine, including asynchronous learning curricula for residents and medical students, simulation programs, and comprehensive clinical skills courses spanning all four years of medical school. She founded and serves as Executive Editor of the Journal of Education and Teaching in Emergency Medicine (JETem). Her scholarship includes over 60 peer-reviewed publications focused on medical education innovation, simulation training, and clinical skills assessment. She has been principal investigator or team member on multiple grants totaling over $1.5 million, including projects on augmented reality in medical education and adaptive learning technologies. In 2020, she received the CORD Academy Scholar Award in the category of Teacher from the Council of Residency Directors.
Wray has received the UC Irvine School of Medicine Golden Apple Teaching Award three times and has been named UCI Emergency Medicine Medical Student Teacher of the Year six times. She serves as President of the California Consortium for the Assessment of Clinical Competency and sits on multiple university committees, including the Academic Senate Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy. She has mentored over 50 medical students, residents, and junior faculty members and maintains an active clinical practice in the UC Irvine Emergency Department.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, 2007
- M.D., Tulane University School of Medicine, 2012
- M.A. in Educational Multimedia, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 2018
Distinctions
- President of CCACC, Inc, California Consortium for the Assessment of Clinical Competency, 2024
- UCI School of Medicine Medical Education MVP Award, 2025
- CORD Academy Scholar Award in the category of Teacher, CORD Academy for Scholarship in Education in Emergency Medicine, 2020
- Medical Education Scholarship, Research & Evaluation (MESRE) Award For Best Oral Presentation in the Category of Innovation, 2023
- UCI School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching—Clinical Sciences Award, 2017-2019
- UCI Emergency Medicine Medical Student Teacher of the Year Award, 2018-2023
- UCI School of Medicine Golden Apple Teaching Award, 2021-2024
- Stephen Abrahamsom Award for Innovation Outstanding Innovations, 2016
- Coolest Innovation Abstract Award, USC Innovations in Medical Education Conference, 2015
- UCI Emergency Medicine Fellow of the Year Award, 2016
Areas of Expertise
- Medical Education Innovation
- Simulation-Based Training
- Asynchronous Curriculum Development
- Clinical Skills Assessment
- Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
- Augmented Reality Pedagogy
- Emergency Medicine Instruction
Recent Publications
- Jung J, Rigdon T, Wray A, Matonis D, “A Case Report of an Unstable C-spine Fracture in the Emergency Department” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. V1-5, 2025.
- Mikhail S, Mina G, Wray A, Matonis D, “A Case Report of Facial Swelling and Crepitus Following a Dental Procedure” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 8-12, 2025.
- Davis K, Boysen-Osborn M, Wray A, Stokes L, “A Guide to the Medical School Curriculum Vitae” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. L1-20, 2024.
- Davis K, Saadat S, Hardoy CR, Do T, Uchida K, Schlossman J, Rivera R, Wray A, “Community College Before Medical School: Rates, Routes, and Reasons from a Subset of Southern California Medical Students” (opens in new tab), AIMS Medical Science, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 34-46, 2024.
- Wray A, Frank A, Allison M, Riggle C, Rivera R, Nelson A, “Augmented Reality for Empathy Training: Stepping into the Patient's Shoes” (opens in new tab), West J Emerg Med: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, vol. supplement, 2024.
- Smith C, Stephenson G, Wray A, Hatter M, “Trauma by Couch: A Case Report of a Massive Traumatic Retroperitoneal Hematoma” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. V1-9, 2023.
- Toohey S, Wray A, Hunter J, Saadat S, Boysen-Osborn M, Smart J, Wiechmann W, Pressman SD, “Authors' Response to the Validity of Cortisol and Galvanic Skin Responses for Measuring Student Stress During Training” (opens in new tab), JMIR Medical Education, vol. 9, pp. e50902, 2023.
- Hope A, Wray A, Stephenson G, “Initial Management and Recognition of Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease, A Case Report” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. V1-4, 2022.
- Sudario G, Toohey S, Wiechmann W, Smart J, Boysen-Osborn M, Youm J, Spann S, Wray A, “The Applied Weighted Slide Metric (AWSM) Tool: Creation of a Standard Slide Design Rubric” (opens in new tab), Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Professionalism, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 91-98, 2022.
- Choi H, Wray A, Smart J, “Zombie Cruise Ship Virtual Escape Room for POCUS Pulmonary: Scan Your Way Out” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. SG1-23, 2022.
- Toohey S, Wray A, Hunter J, Waldrop I, Saadat S, Boysen-Osborn M, Sudario G, Smart J, Wiechmann W, Pressman SD, “Comparing the Psychological Effects of Manikin-Based and Augmented Reality-Based Simulation Training: Within-Subjects Crossover Study” (opens in new tab), Jmir Medical Education, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. e36447, 2022.
- Gibney R, Cantwell C, Toohey S, Boysen-Osborn M, Wiechmann W, Saadat S, Allen A, Wray A, “Gender Evaluation and Numeric Distribution in Emergency Medicine Residencies (GENDER): A Retrospective Analysis of Gender Ratios Among Residents and Residency Directors from 2014-2017” (opens in new tab), Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 886-889, 2022.
- LoBasso M, Jones IA, Shapiro J, Saadat S, Wray A, “The impact of a mindfulness bracelet on emotional affect in medical students: a prospective cohort study” (opens in new tab), BMC Medical Education, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 856, 2022.
- Zuabi N, Thompson S, Lucas A, Wray A, “Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation in a Patient with Suspected Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia A Case Report” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. V9-11, 2021.
- Runge A, Wray A, Harding C, “Virtual COVID Rounds: A Curricular Enrichment Program for Preclinical Medical Students” (opens in new tab), Medical Education, vol. 55, pp. 661, 2021.
- Wray A, Goubert R, Wiechmann W, Boysen-Osborn M, Toohey S, “Utilization of educational videos to improve communication and discharge instructions” (opens in new tab), Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 22, pp. 644-647, 2021.
- Prentice K, Wray A, Matonis D, “An Atraumatic, Idiopathic Case Report of Intraperitoneal Bladder Dome Rupture” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. V9-11, 2021.
- Heffernan C, Wray A, Brown M, “Case Report of an Empyema Identified on Lung Ultrasound” (opens in new tab), JETem, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. V19-23, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Toohey S, Wray A, Wiechmann WF, Lin M, Boysen-Osborn M, “Ten tips for engaging the millennial learner and moving an emergency medicine residency curriculum into the 21st century” (opens in new tab), Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 1-7, 2016.
- Wray A, Bennett K, Boysen-Osborn M, Wiechmann W, Toohey S, “Efficacy of an electronic asynchronous curriculum on emergency medicine education” (opens in new tab), Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, vol. 14, pp. 29, 2017.
- Wray A, Wolff M, Boysen-Osborn M, Wiechmann W, Paradise S, Runcie E, Sudario G, Toohey S, “Not Another Boring Resident Didactic Conference” (opens in new tab), AEM Education and Training, vol. 4, pp. S113-S121, 2019.
- Jen M, Goubert R, Toohey S, Zuabi N, Wray A, “Triage Physician in an Academic Emergency Department: Impact on Resident Education” (opens in new tab), AEM Education and Training, vol. 5, 2020.
- Wray A, Khan F, Ray J, Rowe R, Ray J, Boysen-Osborn M, Wiechmann W, Toohey S, “Comparison of the Bleeding Cricothyrotomy Model to SimMan® for Training Students and Residents Emergency Cricothyrotomy” (opens in new tab), Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Professionalism, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 144-148, 2019.
- Sokol KA, Wray A, Osborn MB, Wiechmann W, Bennett K, Toohey S, “Emergency medicine residency fact board: Why our attempt to encourage on shift learning failed” (opens in new tab), Perspectives on Medical Education, vol. 8, pp. 107-109, 2019.
Contact Information
Email: awray@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-7916
Address: 3800 W. Chapman Avenue, Suite 3200, Orange, CA 92868, Irvine, CA 92697-4064
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Last updated on 3/11/2026.