Kristen Navarro

Bio

Dr. Kristen Navarro is a Supporting Promising Academic Researchers (SPAR) Fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she works in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Bhoj. Her research investigates the molecular mechanisms of TBCK syndrome, a rare neurodegenerative disorder, with the goal of uncovering how TBCK mutations drive disease progression and identifying potential therapeutic targets.

Her path to science was shaped by perseverance. After struggling with mathematics early in her education, she found her passion in genetics, a field that emphasized inheritance and qualitative traits. Her doctoral thesis explored the transmembrane emp24 domain (TMED) proteins in C. elegans, a highly conserved protein family essential to understanding cellular health and disease.

Dr. Navarro’s interest in genetics began as an undergraduate at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she studied sickle cell disease under the mentorship of Dr. Bolaji Thomas. That experience inspired her commitment to research that addresses health disparities and improves outcomes for underserved populations.

She is also dedicated to mentoring and outreach, believing that broad participation in science strengthens the ability to solve complex problems. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Caramel.