Aqilah received her PhD from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis under the dual mentorship of Cristine Czachowski and Christopher Lapish in 2017. While in graduate school, she investigated the neural circuitry of cued alcohol seeking and drinking in selected rodent lines using in vivo electrophysiological and behavioral pharmacological techniques. Aqilah is currently investigating the neural mechanisms in adolescent rodents which may underlie addiction vulnerability in adulthood.