Laila is a second-year PhD student in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, working with Dr. Karen Christman and co-mentored by Dr. Marianna Alperin in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences. She attended Spelman College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, respectively. Her research focuses on maternal mortality and morbidity prevention through novel biomaterial interventions and the evaluation of material efficacy using multi-scale biology. Outside the lab, Laila loves to travel, listen to live music/go to concerts, read, and spend time with friends and family.