Dr Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina
- Biomaterials Co-Lead
- The University of New South Wales
Jelena is Professor and ARC Future Fellow leading a multidisciplinary group in the School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW Sydney in Australia. Her research interests are at the interface of biology and engineering, focusing on the development of biomimetic materials that direct cellular interactions for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
In particular, she develops novel silk-based biomaterials and investigates how biomaterial properties translate to biological outcomes. She is actively involved in the Australasian MedTech sector, including as President of the Australasian Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering (ASBTE), board member of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) Bioengineering flagship, Fellow of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society, and through editorial roles for multiple journals. She is passionate about research training and communication.