Adriana Blazeski PhD

Adriana Blazeski, from Struga in the Republic of Macedonia, is pursuing her doctorate in biomedical engineering. Her research under Leslie Tung focuses on engineering heart tissue by combining extracellular matrix—the collection of components surrounding heart cells—with cardiac cells from human stem cells. Working with a matrix that incorporates biochemical and structural signals, she hopes to cue the cells to behave more like human heart tissue, with the ultimate goal of treating heart disease and testing cardiac drugs. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Blazeski earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Interested in the advancement of women in STEM fields, Blazeski co-founded the Graduate Women's Empowerment Network (GWEN) at Hopkins in 2014.