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I am a polymer chemist with expertise in biomaterials and cardiovascular engineering

2020 - present

Education

Stanford University

NIH NHLBI K99/R00 Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Advisor: Prof. Sarah C. Heilshorn

2014 - 2020

University of Michigan

Rackham Graduate Research Fellow

Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering

Advisor: Prof. Peter X. Ma

Thesis: Tissue engineering simplified: Biodegradable polymers and biomimetic scaffolds made easy, tailorable, and economical

2012 - 2014

Texas State University

Department of Chemistry

Advisor: Prof. Tania B. Betancourt

Thesis: Click-chemistry based synthesis of molecularly responsive hydrogels as biodegradable scaffolds for three-dimensional cell-culture 

2008 - 2012

St. Mary's University

Department of Biochemistry

Selected Honors & Awards

​2023 - 2028 NIH NHLBI K99/R00 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University

​2022 - 2023 American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University

​2022 NSF-AGEP Research University Alliance, Stanford University

​2021 Bio-X Star Mentor Award, Stanford University

2018 - 2020 NIH NIDCR T32 Training Grant, University of Michigan

2018 Rackham Candidate Graduate Research Award, University of Michigan

2017 NextProf Future Faculty, University of Michigan

2016 Rackham Pre-candidate Graduate Research Award, University of Michigan

2014 - 2015 Rackham Merit Fellowship, University of Michigan

Patents

Thomas A., Salimi-Jazi F., Suhar R., De Paiva Narciso N., Navarro R.S., Heilshorn S.C., Dunn J., “Hydrogel injection for intestinal lengthening.” U.S. Serial No. 63/463,782

 

Navarro R.S., Huang M.S., Roth J.G., Hubka K.M., Heilshorn S.C., “Dynamic recombinant hydrogels with degradation-independent relaxation kinetics.” U.S. Serial No. 63/380,486

 

Navarro R.S., Ma P.X., “Biodegradable polymers and nanofibrous scaffold thereof.” US Patent App. 17/919,834  

Upcoming
& Selected Talks

Navarro R.S., De Paiva Narciso N., Gilchrist A.E., Trigo M.L.M., Rodriguez G.A., Heilshorn S.C. Design parameters for injectable biopolymeric hydrogels with dynamic covalent chemistry crosslinks. AIChE Annual Meeting. Orlando, FL, November 2023. Faculty Candidates II. 

Nov. 6, 8:00-8:25am @ Celebration 9, Hyatt Regency Orlando

 

Navarro R.S., De Paiva Narciso N., Gilchrist A.E., Trigo M.L.M., Rodriguez G.A., Heilshorn S.C. Design parameters for injectable biopolymeric hydrogels with dynamic covalent chemistry crosslinks. SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference. Portland, OR, October 2023. Public Health, Life Sciences, and Engineering.

Oct. 26, 1:45-2:00pm @ Portland Ballroom 255, Oregon Convention Center

Navarro R.S., De Paiva Narciso N., Gilchrist A.E., Trigo M.L.M., Rodriguez G.A., Heilshorn S.C. Design parameters for injectable biopolymeric hydrogels with dynamic covalent chemistry crosslinks. BMES Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA, October 2023. Nurturing Nature's Wisdom.

Oct. 11, 3:00-5:00pm @ Exhibit Hall 2 (Meet the Faculty Candidates Forum)

Oct. 13, 2:30-2:45pm @ Room 334, Seattle Convention Center

Navarro R.S., Huang M.S., Brunel L.G., Hull S.M., Roth J.G., De Paiva Narciso N., Rodriguez G.A., Hubka K.M., Heilshorn S.C. Dynamic covalent hydrogels with viscoelasticity and enhanced stability as bioinks. ACS Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA, August 2023. General Papers/New Concepts in Polymeric Materials.

 

Navarro R.S., Huang M.S., Roth J.G., De Paiva Narciso N., Rodriguez G.A., Hubka K.M., Heilshorn S.C. Dynamic recombinant hydrogels with degradation-independent relaxation kinetics. AIChE Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, November 2022. Biomimetic Materials I.

 

Navarro R.S., De Paiva Narciso N., Heilshorn S.C. Hydrogel delivery of statin-eluting nanoparticles for myocardial infarction therapy. AIChE Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, November 2022. Hydrogels and Macroscopic Platforms.

Navarro R.S., De Paiva Narciso N., Gilchrist A.E., Heilshorn S.C. Injectable gels for mechanically active tissues. BMES Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX, October 2022. Latinx Voices in Biomedical Engineering.

 

Navarro R.S., Huang M.S., Roth J.G., Hubka K.M., Long C.M., Enejder A., Heilshorn S.C. Protein hydrophilicity regulates mechanical properties in engineered hydrogels. Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD, April 2022. Biomimetic Hydrogels for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering.

 

Navarro R.S., Yang O., Jiang L., Qiu P., Liu Z., Yang B., Chen Y.E., Ma P.X. Biological functionalization of tubular scaffold for small diameter tissue engineering. TERMIS World Congress. Kyoto, Japan, September 2018.

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