In her role with PHHI, Lila is a David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor and part of N.C. State's Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.
"[2] Lila's research program, called the "LilaLab," focuses on identifying and understanding the bioactive components of fruits and vegetables that confer human health benefits when consumed.
Her lab works to identify these compounds and define the protective mechanisms which will ultimately lead to recommendations for how much or how often a food would need to be consumed to confer health benefits.
Lila has ongoing research projects in Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania, and is vice president of the Global Institute for BioExploration (GIBEX).
She has served as the U.S. correspondent for the International Association of Plant Biotechnology, President of the Society for In Vitro Biology, Director of the ACES Global Connect – the international arm of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Associate Director of the Functional Foods for Health Program.