Jaylissa was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico Cayey in 2014, with a B.S. in Chemistry. While in college she conducted research in Elba Reyes' lab, isolating and characterizing therapeutic components of Agave americana L. root infusions. She also performed research developing ferromagnetic-superconducting nanowires with Dr. Moses Chan at Penn State University. On 2013 Jaylissa worked as a undergraduate research assistant with Dr. Eric Altman on the development and calibration of an ultra high vacuum machine at Yale University. In her free time Jaylissa enjoys the culinary aspects of chemistry, watching movies and practicing sports.