AUM MBA gives alumnus the blueprint for a new health venture
Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) alumnus Dr. Bilal Ahmed (’13, MBA) has built a career defined by academic excellence, medical expertise, and entrepreneurial innovation, one he credits, in part, to the strong foundation he gained at AUM as a graduate student.
But Ahmed’s career as a cardiologist extends beyond clinical care. With the MBA he earned from AUM in 2013, he developed a business model to launch Lylah Health, a new personalized microbiome therapeutics company rooted in science, transparency, and culturally informed wellness.
His time at AUM was “immensely formative,” providing him with a business degree that helped accelerate his professional growth and strengthened his confidence to launch his new entrepreneurial venture.
“I firmly believe the education I received at AUM was on par with most institutions, and my degree has made my career advancement quicker than if I had not gotten it,” said Ahmed, who co-founded Lylah Health with his sister Zoya Ahmed, a culinary expert as passionate about food as medicine.
Lylah Health grew out of Ahmed’s longstanding interest in the connection between the gut microbiome and cardiovascular disease. That curiosity began in 2017, when he conducted research analyzing gut microbial differences in patients undergoing left heart catheterization, specifically comparing individuals with coronary artery disease to those without it.
“What started as an interest became a lifelong passion,” said Ahmed, who is a practicing cardiologist in Columbus, Georgia.
That passion, paired with Zoya Ahmed’s expertise and shared mission, evolved into Lylah Health’s core philosophy: targeted, evidence-based support for metabolic and cardiovascular health.
“What began as research out of curiosity around the relationship between cardiovascular disease and the gut, grew into finding a way to address an issue that typically has a lack of evidence,” Ahmed said. “More than half of the supplements people are taking today to improve things, such as heart health, are products that have no research behind them.”
From academic curiosity to entrepreneurial vision
Lylah Health recognizes that modern diets often work against cardiovascular health. By targeting the gut microbiome, the company developed its flagship product Biotics3, which aims to counter inflammatory pathways linked to metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease. Biotics3 uses a microencapsulated blend of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics engineered to survive stomach acid and support beneficial gut bacteria in the intestines.
“The formulation is specifically designed to address risk factors for cardiovascular disease by fostering healthier gut flora, reducing inflammation, and supporting metabolic health,” Ahmed said.
His company emphasizes that the supplement is not a replacement for healthy habits but an evidence-based complement to them. Research, including multiple randomized controlled trials, shows that the probiotic blend used in Biotics3 can significantly reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in patients with hyperlipidemia, whether or not they are already on lipid-lowering therapy.
“Rather than relying on trends or buzzwords, Lylah prioritizes science-based messaging, educational content, and transparency about what the product can and cannot do,” Ahmed said.
Lylah’s commitment to evidence extends to a website chatbot powered by a closed-loop artificial intelligence system trained on 79 peer-reviewed academic papers.
“We have more bacteria in our body than cells, and we’re confidence that our product can help address issues of the gut biome,” Ahmed said. “Lylah’s chatbot was developed to answer consumer questions with research-backed accuracy and clarity.”
AUM’s lasting impact
Through Lylah Health, Ahmed is carrying forward a foundation that bridges medicine, science, and innovation to create tools that support healthier lives.
After finishing his degree at AUM, Ahmed entered medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2013–2017), followed by internal medicine training at Brown University (2017–2020). He went on to complete a cardiology fellowship at Tufts in Boston (2020–2023) before pursuing advanced training in interventional and structural cardiology at Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts (2023–2025).
But its AUM that Ahmed credits with helping him develop the business acumen he now uses every day as a clinician-entrepreneur and chief scientific officer.
“AUM provided a foundation to help me launch my career forward,” he said. “That foundation made all the difference.”
Photo caption: Dr. Bilal Ahmed (pictured right) with his family showcasing his new health venture Lylah Health that is set to launch in January 2026.
