Meet our Faculty
Meet the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Faculty
Ann Lal, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
MFM fellowship program director
MFM division director
Medical school: University of Illinois College of Medicine (2007)
Residency: Mayo Clinic (2011)
Fellowship: University of Illinois - Graduate Medical Education (2014)
Clinical and academic interests: Maternal medical comorbidities, diabetes in pregnancy, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, coordination of care
Why I love MFM: I love MFM because of the variety, and the role we get to play in a patient's pregnancy. I love covering inpatient, outpatient, ultrasound, doing procedures, and getting to teach while doing all of those things. Every day brings a new opportunity. We have the opportunity to support patients during the lowest and highest moments of their life; it is such a privilege.
Notable accomplishments and roles: 2025 CREOG national Faculty award for Excellence in Resident education, Birth equity committee, TeamBirth physician lead, Obstetric Anesthesia Quality Committee, Clinical research Education Study Team mentor (Class of 2025 and class of 2027), Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecology Membership Committee, reviewer for multiple journals, Wolf and kettle teaching award 2023, APGO Excellence in teaching award, Schrieber Venture Fund Innovation Grant 2024, York Grant award recipient (2024 and 2025)
Fun outside the hospital: hanging out with my family, reading, baking, watching Notre Dame football and exercising
Fun facts:
- Favorite vacation spot: Lake Geneva, WI
- Favorite author: Fredrik Backman
- Favorite Chicagoland restaurant: Too many to list—but, top of the list are Tango Sur and Shanghai Terrace
Nicole Sprawka, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Medical school: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - Saint Paul (2004)
Residency: Maricopa Medical Center (2006), Baylor College of Medicine (2008)
Fellowship: Brown University School of Medicine (2011)
Clinical and academic interests: genetics
Why I love MFM: complexity of taking care of more than 1 patient
Notable accomplishments and committee roles: blood committee, recipient of Wolf and Kettle Award
Fun outside the hospital: reading
Fun facts:
- Favorite vacation spot: Costa Rica
- Favorite book genre: historical fiction, psychological thrillers
- Hidden talent: reading 50 books a year
- Favorite Chicagoland restaurant: Pompette
Layan Alrahmani, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Fetal Assessment Center and Ultrasound Director
Medical school: University of Jordan, School of Medicine (2009)
Residency: Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center (2015)
Fellowship: Mayo Clinic, Minnesota (2018)
Clinical and academic interests: lifestyle medicine, ultrasound, ultrasound-guided procedures, maternal and fetal cardiac disease.
Why I love MFM: the continuity of care, the pathology, and most importantly the patients!
Notable accomplishments and roles: SMFM Pregnancy journal social media editor; SMFM membership committee chair; 40 Voices in MFM; recipient of Wolf and Kettle teaching award 2023, 2024, 2025; Mayo Clinic excellence in teaching award.
Fun outside the hospital: creating art, exercise and lifting, yoga, reading, hanging out with my kids, dancing!
Fun facts:
- Favorite vacation spot: cruising the Carribbean
- Favorite book genre: psychological thrillers then historical fiction
- Coffee order: I make instant coffee at home :)
- Hidden talent: I am a ferocious reader!
- Favorite chicagoland restaurant: Gundis
Learn more about Dr. Alrahmani
Joana Perdigao, MD
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Medical school: University of Virginia School of Medicine (2012)
Residency: University of Chicago Medical Center (2016)
Fellowship: University of Pennsylvania Health System (2020)
Clinical and academic interests: Started out really into postpartum HTN/ hypertensive disorders/Cardiac/ICU, but I've grown to love it all =)
Why I love MFM: who else gets to read and perform ultrasounds, do cool procedures AND have knowledge of all the medicine subspecialties applied to pregnancy??
Notable accomplishments and roles: OB Quality Director, recipient of Wolf and Kettle Award
Fun outside the hospital: hanging out with my family, reading, crochet, eating good food. Wish I could say exercise, but that wouldn't be true.
Fun facts:
- Favorite vacation spot: anywhere on the Portuguese coast
- Favorite podcast: Any of the NYT or NPR podcasts
- Favorite book genre: probably historical fiction, but I love mysteries as well. Definitely Jane Austen.
- Favorite Chicagoland restaurant: Monteverde
Kyra Ramsey, MS, CGC
Prenatal Genetic Counselor
Education
Northwestern University, BA in neuroscience
Northwestern University, Masters of genetic counseling
Clinical and academic interests: Fetal ultrasound abnormalities, high-risk prenatal screening results, complex family medical history, student education and supervision
Why I love MFM: I love MFM because I get to support, advocate, and seek answers for patients going through incredibly physically and emotionally challenging times. Plus, prenatal genetics is a constantly evolving field that offers opportunity for continual growth.
Notable accomplishments and roles: Clinical supervisor for NUGCP students and MFM fellows, NUCGP lecturer, thesis committee member, platform presentation speaker at 2022 NSGC conference.
Outside the hospital: My favorite pastimes include reading, losing at trivia, facetiming with my sisters, and hanging out with my wife and cats.
Fun fact:
- Favorite book genre: Literary/Speculative Fiction
- Hidden talent: I love oil painting!
- Favorite chicagoland restaurant: Willow Room