Jennifer Hartt Elisseeff, PhD
Highlights
Languages
- English
Gender
FemaleJohns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Jennifer Hartt Elisseeff
Professional Titles
- Director, Translational Tissue Engineering Center
- Jules Stein Professor of Ophthalmology
Primary Academic Title
Professor of Ophthalmology
Background
Dr. Jennifer Elisseeff is the Morton F. Goldberg Endowed Professor of ophthalmology and a professor orthopaedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She also holds appointments in the Johns Hopkins Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on tissue regeneration. Dr. Elisseeff is the Jules Stein Professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center.
Her team is engaged in engineering technologies to repair lost tissues. Specifically, she is examining hydrogels as a scaffold for tissue engineering and is working to develop an artificial cornea.
Dr. Elisseeff received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. in medical engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. After doctoral studies, Dr. Elisseeff was a fellow at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Pharmacology Research Associate Program. She joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2001.
In 2004, Dr. Elisseeff cofounded Cartilix Inc., a startup that translated adhesive and biomaterial technologies for treating orthopedic disease, acquired by Biomet Inc. in 2009. In 2009, she also founded Aegeria Soft Tissue and Tissue Repair, startups focused on soft tissue regeneration and wound healing.
Dr. Elisseeff serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Bausch and Lomb, Kythera Biopharmaceutical, and Cellular Bioengineering Inc. She has received numerous awards including the Carnegie Mellon Young Alumni Award, Arthritis Investigator Award from the Arthritis Foundation, Yasuda Award from the Society of Physical Regulation in Medicine and Biology. She was named by Technology Review magazine as a top innovator under 35 in 2002 and her research was cited among the top 10 technologies to change the future. In 2008, Dr. Elisseeff was elected a fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum. She has published over 120 articles, book chapters and patent applications and given over 130 national and international invited lectures.
Centers and Institutes
Recent News Articles and Media Coverage
Bringing Johns Hopkins Discoveries to the World - Dome (Dec. 2019)
This Injectable Gel Could One Day Rebuild Muscle, Skin, and Fat - Science (May 2019)
Tech Venturers - The Johns Hopkins Whiting School Of Engineering Magazine, (Winter 2018)
Additional Academic Titles
Joint Appointment in Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Oncology
Contact for Research Inquiries
Smith Building
400 N. Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: (410) 614-6834
Fax: (410) 614-6840
jhe@jhu.edu
Research Interests
Biomaterials, Biomaterials and stem cells for tissue engineering, Cartilage regeneration, Cornea repair, Regenerating tissue, Regenerative medicine, Stem cell research, Stem cells
Lab Website
Elisseeff Lab - Lab Website
Dr. Elisseeff is the director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center, a collaboration between the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Wilmer Eye Institute. The lab comprises surgical fellows, biologists, chemists and engineers who work together to develop new biomaterials, study stem cells and design new technologies for regenerative medicine. The goal of her lab is to engineer technologies to repair lost tissues.
Her lab is examining hydrogels as a scaffold for tissue engineering. Hydrogels are ideal due to their high water content for nutrient and waste transport, and their ability to encapsulate cells and to implant in a minimally invasive manner. The lab is currently focused on developing synthetic-biological hydrogels with highly controlled physical properties and biological function. The discovery of human embryonic stem cells has created the possibility to regenerate any tissue from a single, totipotent cell population. Her lab is examining the potential of using biomaterials for stem cell differentiation and engineering mesenchymal tissues.
Research Summary
Dr. Elisseeff is a leading expert in the field of tissue engineering. She directs the Translational Tissue Engineering Center where she and her team of scientists study stem cells, develop new biomaterials and design new technologies for regenerative medicine.
Currently, Dr. Elisseeff is working to develop a synthetic cornea using biomaterials. She was recently awarded a grant from the military to develop technologies for ocular battlefield wounds.
Selected Publications
Anseth KS, Metters AT, Bryant SJ, Martens PJ, Elisseeff J, Bowman CN. “In situ forming degradable networks and their application in tissue engineering and drug delivery.” J Control Release, 2002. 78(1-3): p. 199-209.
Elisseeff J, McIntosh W, Anseth K, Riley S, Ragan P, Langer R. “Photoencapsulation of chondrocytes in poly(ethylene oxide)-based semi- interpenetrating networks.” J Biomed Mater Res, 2000. 51(2): p. 164-71.
Elisseeff J, McIntosh W, Fu K, Blunk BT, Langer R. “Controlled-release of IGF-I and TGF-beta1 in a photopolymerizing hydrogel for cartilage tissue engineering.” J Orthop Res, 2001. 19(6): p. 1098-104.
Elisseeff J,Anseth KS, Sims D, McIntosh W, Randolph M, Langer R. “Transdermal Photopolymerization for Minimally Invasive Implantation.” Proc. Nat. Acad. Sc., USA, 1999. 96: p. 3104-3107.
Elisseeff J,Anseth KS, Sims D, McIntosh W, Randolph M, Yaremchuk M, Langer R. “Transdermal photopolymerization of poly(ethylene oxide)-based injectable hydrogels for tissue-engineered cartilage.” Plast Reconstr Surg, 1999. 104(4): p. 1014-22.
Honors
- NIH Director's Pioneer Award, National Institutes of Health, 10/1/19
- Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 1/1/09
- Young Global Leader, The World Economic Forum, 1/1/08
- Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine, Iwao Yasuda Award, 1/1/05
- Young Alumni Award, Carnegie Mellon, 1/1/03
- Nominated to World Technology Network, Medicine Category, 1/1/03
- TR10 Honoree: Ten Technologies that will change the future, Technology Review Magazine, 1/1/03
- TR100 Honoree top 100 innovators under age 35, Technology Review Magazine, 1/1/02
- Arthritis Investigator Award, Arthritis Foundation, 1/1/01
- Pharmacology Research Associate Fellow, NIGMS, 1/1/00
- Whitaker Scholarship, International Society of Internal Organs, 5/1/97
- Whitaker Scholarship to attend 42nd American Society for Artificial Organs Meeting, 5/1/96
- University Award, Pittsburgh Society of Analytical Chemists, 1/1/94
- Monteverdi Award for top female student, Mellon College of Science, 1/1/94
- Warner Prize for Juniors in Chemistry, 1/1/93
Memberships
- National Academy of Medicine
- National Academy of Engineering
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Chemical Society
- Biomedical Engineering Society
- International Society for Stem Cell Research
- Materials Research Society
- Orthopedic Research Society
- Maryland Technology Development Corp,
Board of Directors
Professional Activities
- Aegeria, Co-founder, 1/1/09
- ASTM Tissue Engineered, Vice chair
- Baltimore Poly High School, 1/1/02
- ESCRO, review committee, 1/1/09
- Graduate Education Committee, 1/1/09
- High School Internet Science and Technology Fair, Advisor, 1/1/03
- HST 35th Reunion, Chair of Academic panel, 1/1/04
- International Journal of Medical Implants and Device, Editorial board, 1/1/05
- Johns Hopkins, Biotech Network Advisory Board, 1/1/04
- Medical Products Standards, 1/1/02
- Stem Cell Bioethics Group, 1/1/09
- Tissue Engineering, Editorial board, 1/1/05 - 1/1/09
- Young Inventor's International, Advisor Canada, 1/1/03
Additional Training
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 2001, Developmental Biology