Ayla Dinda

Ayla has been drawn to science for as long as she can remember. From a young age, she was fascinated by how living things worked, even recalling early childhood moments of examining insects and exploring the natural world with curiosity. That early interest eventually led her toward a goal of becoming a physician, which she explored firsthand through hands-on experience as a certified nursing assistant in nursing homes. While she valued the relationships she built with residents, she realized that the direct clinical environment and its pressures were not the right fit for her long-term path.

Her turning point came when she discovered medical laboratory science and the role of the hospital laboratory. Ayla found her place in the core laboratory setting, where she could contribute meaningfully to patient care behind the scenes as part of a highly skilled team. For the past five years, she has worked as a per diem lab technician across UMass hospital sites, including Leominster Hospital, in fast-paced core lab environments. In her current role as a core lab technologist in a 200-plus-bed hospital, she manages STAT specimens from the emergency department, performs and reports testing, and supports critical diagnostics. Her primary focus is hematology and urinalysis, though she is also trained across blood bank, chemistry, and microbiology. She approaches her work methodically, prioritizing accuracy and consistency in an environment where rapid results can directly impact patient care.

Ayla brings a decade of healthcare experience, including five years dedicated specifically to laboratory science. She earned her training in Clinical Laboratory Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, with a concentration in Applied Biomedical Sciences/Medical Laboratory Science, and completed clinical rotations at Boston Medical Center, Leahy in Burlington, and Leicester Hospital. Over the course of her laboratory career, she has contributed to significant patient outcomes, including serving as the first step in the diagnostic process for two leukemia cases. She is also an advocate for raising awareness of medical laboratory science, a field she believes is essential yet often overlooked, and she continues to encourage others to explore it as a meaningful and impactful career path.