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.