Jason Szafron

Jason Szafron is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. He leads a research group focused on developing computational tools to understand and treat cardiovascular diseases, particularly congenital heart defects, pulmonary vascular diseases, and fetal growth restriction. His work integrates biomechanical modeling with experimental data to improve treatment planning and medical device design.

Education:

• B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University (2015)
• M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Yale University (2018, 2020)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Department of Pediatrics (2023)

Research Interests:

• Simulation tools for cardiopulmonary disease progression
• Biomechanical modeling of vascular adaptation
• Computational frameworks for organ-scale growth remodeling
• Optimization of tissue-engineered vascular grafts

His lab combines experimental and computational approaches to study disease mechanisms, with a focus on mechanobiological and immunological factors driving vascular pathology.

Publications highlight advancements in pulmonary hypertension modeling, vascular graft design, and open-source diagnostic tools like HemoLens. Recent work emphasizes personalized treatment planning via neural network-based digital twins.

Awards:

• Parker B. Francis Fellow (2022–2025) for pulmonary disease research

Labs/Teams: Director of the Szafron Lab at CMU, focused on translational cardiovascular engineering. Collaborates with Stanford University and Mayo Clinic on clinical applications.