Dr. Elisseeff received a bachelors degree in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a PhD 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 where she worked in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. In 2001, Dr. Elisseeff became an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. In 2004, 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, new startups focused on soft tissue regeneration and wound healing. Dr. Elisseeff is a Morton Goldberg Professor of Ophthalmology and directs the recently established Translational Tissue Engineering Center at Johns Hopkins in collaboration with Biomedical Engineering. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Bausch and Lomb, Kythera Biopharmaceutical, and Cellular Bioengineering Inc. Dr. Elisseeff has received 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, and was named by Technology Review magazine as a top innovator under 35 in 2002 and 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.