Dr. DeSilva is originally from Topeka, Kansas and attended Boston College. She spent one year working as an employment case manager for homeless individuals on Skid Row in Los Angeles after finishing college and then moved to Rochester, Minnesota where she received an M.D. from Mayo Medical School. She completed her internship and residency in the Department of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. During residency, she provided medical care at a diverse mix of medical sites including community-based programs, children's hospitals, county medical centers, a rehabilitation center, a VA medical center, and a university hospital. She was a participant in the University of Minnesota’s Global Health Pathway residency track and her internal medicine continuity clinic was based at a medical clinic that served primarily newly arriving immigrants and refugees. After residency, she took part in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). She was based in Portland, Oregon and worked as a medical epidemiologist for the Oregon Health Authority. After EIS, she moved back to Minnesota and worked for HealthPartners as a primary care internal medicine and pediatric physician and clinician researcher. Her research with HealthPartners focused on refugee health and vaccine safety issues. She recently changed jobs and is now working as a medical specialist for the Minnesota Department of Health in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control Division. She has also maintained an interest in homeless health care issues and volunteers once a month at a Health Care for the Homeless clinic.