A Saudi female scientist in the field of medicine, specializing in biotechnology.

She has been the founder and chair of the board of the Innovative Quality Institute since 2021, the i2 Institute for Imagination and Creativity since 2011, and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Science since 2012.

She founded Sonptix and served as the President's Senior Advisor for Science, Technology, and Innovation and Marketing and Communications Supervisor at the Islamic Development Bank from 2018 to 2021. She also served as Supervisor of the Muslim Communities Support Division in Non-Member Countries at the same bank in 2021. She was a visiting scholar at the Department of Chemistry at Harvard University in the United States from 2006 to 2011.

She also served as a member of the Saudi Shura Council in 2013, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Diagnostics For All laboratory, which she co-founded, between 2007 and 2011.

Hayat invented a machine that combines the effects of light and ultrasound waves, contributing to the early detection of breast cancer. The innovation has been granted several patents, including:

• UK patent for transducer sensor in 2002.
• International patent 2003.
• UK patent for TRANSDUCER SENSOR in 2004.
• Patented by Canada in 2004.
• Patent from Japan in 2006.
• Patent from China in 2006.
• International patent 2008.
• US patent for lateral flow invention 2009.
• US patent for flexible thermal probe biomedical sensor in 2010.

Known for her major contributions to healthcare testing and biotechnology, she founded the Diagnostics for All project, where she co-invented an ultrasound and magnetic sensor that can detect the right medication for the human body. It also helps astronauts monitor their blood sugar and blood pressure levels, and has multiple applications in various aspects of the pharmaceutical industry.

She has participated in numerous events aimed at raising awareness of science among women, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world in general. She is concerned with the issue of brain drain and was invited to participate as a speaker at the Jeddah Economic Forum in 2005.

She received the "Exceptional Woman for Peace Award" in Science and Technology Leadership from Pathways for Peace in 2024, the "PopTech" Fellowship for Social Innovation in 2009 and 2010, the "Makkah Award for Scientific Innovation" from Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud in 2010, and was ranked second in the "Most Powerful Arab Women in Saudi Arabia" list in 2012, ninth in the "Most Powerful Arab Women" list, and third in the "Most Powerful Women in Saudi Arabia" list in 2012 by CEO Magazine.

She was also named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program in 2011, one of Newsweek's 150 Women Changing the World in 2012, and one of Newsweek's 150 Fearless Women in 2012.

She was appointed a Global Ambassador for the Vital Voices Global Partnership in 2012, was selected as one of the “50 Academics and Think Tanks” by the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin in 2015, one of the “32 Amazing Inventors” by 24/7 Wall St in 2018, and was included in the BBC’s list of “100 Inspiring and Influential Women Around the World” in 2018.

She holds a PhD in Biotechnology from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom in 2000, and a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from King's College London in the same country in 1995.