Dr Nor Alia obtained her medical degree from University College Cork, Ireland. Thereafter, she became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2016, obtained her Master of Medicine (Surgery) in 2019, and completed her surgical training by being awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and becoming accredited as a Specialist in General Surgery by the Ministry of Health, Singapore. She received the Ministry of Health – Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) award in 2024 to further advance her training in revisional bariatric surgery in Adelaide, Australia under the tutelage of renowned Professor Lilian Kow, one of the world leaders in the highly specialised field of bariatric and metabolic surgery.

Dr Alia currently works in the Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) and Bariatric Surgery Unit at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH). Her interests lie in the management of both benign and malignant upper GI conditions, as well as bariatric and metabolic surgery. She is adept in both open and minimally invasive surgical techniques in her subspecialty field, as well as other general surgical conditions.

Aside from this, Dr Alia is involved in surgical education at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She holds the position of Core Clinical Faculty Member for the NHG Health (NHG) Surgery-In-General (SIG) Residency Programme as well as Physician Faculty Member of the NHG General Surgery Residency Programme.​