Harley honored with the 2026 Suzanne Berger Award for Future Global Leaders

Harley Carroll ‘26 has completed MISTI programs in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Italy. She participated in Global Teaching Labs over two IAPs, where she taught biology and math in Italy and Germany. She also took part in a MISTI Global Classroom on healthcare Innovation in Abu Dhabi, and spent her junior summer in London working as a research and product development intern at Calla Lily Clinical Care.

As an FLI student who had not left the country prior to coming to MIT, Harley emerges from MIT as a future global leader with remarkable drive, initiative, cultural sensitivity, and openness to learning from and including diverse global perspectives in women’s healthcare solutions. 

In recognition of this outstanding achievement, she was awarded the 2026 Suzanne Berger Award for Future Global Leaders. 

Harley shared why she participated in MISTI, her most memorable moments abroad, how MISTI fits into her career path, and more.

1. What are some valuable lessons you learned from locals abroad?
One of the most valuable lessons I learned abroad came from my conversations with female students in Abu Dhabi about women’s health.

I learned that topics I was used to discussing more openly were more private or even stigmatized depending on cultural and social norms. Those conversations really changed how I think about this space. They made me realize that when you’re designing in women’s health, it’s not just about getting the science right, but it’s also about whether people actually feel comfortable using what you've created.

It showed me how important trust and cultural context are, and that if you don’t take those into account, even a really good solution won’t actually work in practice.
 
 

2. Why did you choose to include MISTI in your MIT journey?
I chose MISTI because I wanted to push my learning beyond the classroom and understand how engineering translates globally.

MIT gives you incredible technical training, but MISTI provides the chance to apply that knowledge in a completely new environment — where constraints, users, and systems are all different.

I am especially interested in women’s health, and I knew that global exposure would be critical in understanding how to design solutions that are scalable and equitable for people in different cultures.

3. How did MISTI complement your work/research at MIT?
MISTI complemented my work at MIT by bridging theory and real-world application.

At MIT, I am doing highly technical lab work through coursework and undergraduate research. Through MISTI, I worked at Calla Lily Clinical Care on a vaginal drug delivery device, where I got to see how a medical product actually moves toward clinical use.

It helped me connect the science to patient impact through thinking about manufacturability, usability, and even early clinical workflows. That perspective is something I couldn’t have fully developed in a lab alone.

4. How can someone in your major benefit from MISTI?
For someone in biological engineering, MISTI is incredibly valuable because it exposes you to how biology, medicine, and engineering intersect across different healthcare systems.

You gain a broader understanding of global health challenges, resource limitations, and patient needs. It also strengthens problem-solving skills because you’re forced to adapt your technical knowledge to new environments.

That kind of experience is essential if you want to build technologies that actually make it to real patients.

5. If someone is hesitant about doing MISTI, what would you tell them?
I would tell them that MISTI is one of the few opportunities where you can take everything you’ve learned at MIT and see its real impact in the world.

Honestly, it can be uncomfortable navigating new cultures at times, but that’s exactly why it’s so valuable. You become more adaptable, more confident, and more aware of how your work fits into a global context. 

As a FLI student, MISTI also provided an accessible way for me to go abroad and experience the world beyond MIT.

6. What’s next for you, and how did MISTI influence your path?
Next, I’ll be pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, where I plan to focus on women’s health technologies and medical device innovation.

MISTI played a huge role in shaping that path. It solidified my interest in translating research into real-world solutions and made me more intentional about designing technologies that are globally accessible.

It also gave me confidence that I want my career to sit at the intersection of engineering, healthcare, and real patient impact, not just in the US, but globally.