El-Sayed obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at Cambridge
University, UK. She worked as a visiting research faculty member at the University of Maryland
Baltimore County (UMBC). She is currently an Associate Professor and Graduate Program
Director at the Chemistry Department, American University in Cairo.
El-Sayed has been awarded the Fulbright Scholar Fellowship along with other professional
awards. She is also a member of a number of professional associations including ACS, AIChE
and IChemE.