Ayla Gerk Rangel was born in the United States, raised in Brazil, and graduated with a Medical Degree from Universidad Católica Argentina. She is currently a PhD candidate at McGill University, where she holds the Jean Martin Laberge Global Pediatric Fellowship. Her doctoral research explores Intersectionality in Global Surgery and Pediatric Surgical Outcomes. She conducts this research at the Commisur Lab at the Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery at Montreal Children’s Hospital. Concomitantly, she is a researcher at the Harvard Medical School’s Program in Global Surgery and Social Change. In this role, she has been actively involved with research in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, and with the Ecuador National Surgical Plan. Previously, Ayla served as chair and now advises as a Junior Advisor for the Gender Equity Initiative in Global Surgery (GEIGS). She has also worked as a clinical doctor and researcher at Fundacion SPINE, focusing on person and family-centered care for rare diseases, and held positions as Project Manager and Research Coordinator at the Rare Diseases Community (RDCom). Her professional focus is on pediatric surgery and enhancing equity in Global Surgery.