Tammy Lý Spear

In audio, video & print

A few places my work has shown up — a poem, a podcast, a recognition, and a handful of clinic reels.

Heading Health — patient-experience reels

Three short reels from the Stone Oak clinic, cross-posted on Instagram, Facebook, Threads.

Heading Health Instagram reel featuring Tammy Lý Spear (reel ID DRfZk6djPJz) — view on Instagram if the embed does not load.

Open in Instagram →

Heading Health Instagram reel featuring Tammy Lý Spear (reel ID DRWwxt9DODr) — view on Instagram if the embed does not load.

Open in Instagram →

Heading Health Instagram reel featuring Tammy Lý Spear (reel ID DRZc9iTjI5u) — view on Instagram if the embed does not load.

Open in Instagram →

In Defense of Fandom — Parasocial-Adjacent (S3E3)

Season 3, Episode 3 · Released May 20, 2025 · Listen on Apple Podcasts

A conversation about the affections people develop for public figures — what that reveals about identification, projection, and why we end up caring about strangers.

Honored — Life-Changing Teaching Award Nominations (2025)

Honored Schools · honoredschools.org · Springwoods Village Middle School, Houston, TX · Listed on The Honor Roll

Blurbs from student nominations.

You’ve helped me grow into the person I am. You challenged me to ask more of myself. Words can’t express how you have helped shape who I am. I will never forget my time in your class. You showed me what I am truly capable of. You truly have made a difference to my life. Thank you Ms Spear. — Tiana
View nominee profile →
She is awesome because she teaches us science. She makes me excited by walking in her class with a smile and makes people laugh sometimes. She already does, but we need to care for her more and be serious so we can help her get better and want to teach classes. When she says she believes in us and makes people happy by doing something silly, I have more confidence in myself. She supports me inside and outside always.
View nominee profile →
Ms. Spear, I could cry. You’ve been one of the most supportive and kindest teachers I’ve ever had. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. Your dedication, patience, and kindness have made such a difference in my life, and I’m truly grateful for the time and effort you put into teaching us. You’ve not only shared knowledge but also inspired me to grow, learn, and believe in myself. Your passion for teaching and the care you’ve shown will never be forgotten. While we are sad to see you go, we are also excited for you as you enter on this new journey.
View nominee profile →
She is an awesome teacher because she makes learning fun. She makes learning exciting and lets us do hands-on experiments so we can learn and understand better. She lets us know she cares about us by making the work understandable and helping us get good grades in her class. She makes us better and more confident students by helping us understand and supporting us in what we want to be when we grow up, like a scientist, marine biologist, and other careers. She supports us in everything we do, helping us become better at science and being the wonderful science teacher she is.
View nominee profile →
Ms. Spear has supported me by understanding my anxiety and being able to help with it. I appreciate this because I’ve always wanted to feel seen, and Spring Woods Village Middle School, including my teachers like Ms. Spear, helped me in many ways! I’m sad that she’s not attending this school anymore, but we are still in contact and it’s okay to move on from things sometimes!
View nominee profile →

Prosody, Inaugural Edition — “Seek First, Others”

Prosody · Dell Medical School literary magazine · Page 31 · Read on Issuu · @prosodymagazine on Instagram

A poem I wrote, Seek First, Others, in the magazine’s inaugural edition. I served as Vice President of Design for that issue.

Dell Medical School — 2020 Health Heroes

Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin · Watch on Facebook

A tribute from Dr. Thomas Varkey for COVID-19 volunteer response and dissection work supporting Austin EMS. I appear at 1:34.

Dell Medical School 2020 Health Heroes recognition email — Thank You Health Heroes graphic with three pandemic-response photos and a thank-you message from Dr. Thomas Varkey to Tammy Lý Spear Play · starts at 1:34

Published Research

The patient in the room is one scale of the problem. These projects looked at a different scale — population data, diagnostic edge cases, structural determinants that the clinical encounter doesn’t reach — and the ability to capture the details at both a close and wide lens is what intrigues and confounds me.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cotard’s Delusion: A Clinical Case Study

European Medical Journal · Dell Medical School

First-name author of a 6-person team. Led publication of a case study documenting Cotard’s Delusion—a rare neurological disorder in which a patient believes they are dead or do not exist—one of the most unusual presentations in clinical psychiatry.

Analytics Capstone

Opioid Fatality Trend Analysis

Designed ETL pipelines and built interactive Tableau dashboards providing geospatial visualization of opioid fatality trends spanning 8 years across the United States.

Honors Thesis

Social Determinants of Health: STATA Modeling

Secured $20,000 in research funding to examine social determinants of health factors using econometric modeling. Presented findings at the Plan II Thesis Symposium to faculty, peers, and external reviewers.