When you think of a young woman who’s spent most of her life in the San Joaquin Valley, you might not picture a Ph.D. bioengineer.

Fresno native Alicia Blancas is bound to change that.

Blancas chose to study biology because she was inspired by an Advanced Placement teacher at Edison High School. A California State University, Fresno, grad, she arrived at UC Merced in time for its 2005 grand opening to pursue a Ph.D. with Professor Kara McCloskey.

Last spring, she won a fellowship from the National Institutes of Health underwriting her research on ways to induce embryonic stem cells to become endothelial cells – the types of cells that line our blood vessels. If she’s successful, her research could contribute to transplant technologies that don’t require harvesting grafts from other parts of the body for bypass surgeries, as doctors do now.

“Heart disease is so common,” Blancas said. “There will definitely be clinical applications for this research, and they’ll be useful for a lot of people.”

Although it’s time-consuming work, with each experiment taking weeks to run, Blancas seems to have the patience and multitasking ability required. She has to update NIH every year on her progress and hopes to finish in 2010.

She works with another grad student and six undergraduate researchers in McCloskey’s lab. It’s been a positive experience so far.

“Supervising undergraduates is rewarding,” she said. “Once they’re trained, they can help so much. I try to give them as much hands-on experience as possible and help them understand why they’re doing each task.”

Blancas said this helps prepare students for future pursuits like graduate or medical school.

As for Blancas’ future, she’s considering a postdoctoral position outside the Valley – maybe overseas – at the suggestion of her advisor, with whom she has a strong and positive working relationship.

But after that, Blancas might just be back home. She hopes to start a biotech company of her own with the help of her brother, a mechanical engineer. The Valley is one potential location.

“I know it will be a lot of work,” she said, “But I also know it’s worthwhile to be in on the ground level of something new.”