The American Astronomical Society honored her work by awarding her the Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy Prize in 1992. She also was named as a Hubble Fellow during her work at the University of Maryland. She was awarded a National Science Foundation's CAREER Award in 1999. In 1998 she received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Lada got her Bachelor of Science in Physics degree at Yale University in 1965. She did her Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Texas in 1990. Lada is currently Professor of Astronomy at the The University of Florida.