Chris Navara, PhD
Associate Professor of Research
Dr. Navara’s research focuses on the cellular biology of pluripotent stem cells. Using human pluripotent stem cells, Dr. Navara’s research group makes human nerve cells from Parkinson’s patients, tests their biology to better understand the disease, and tests new potential therapies that may slow or stop its progression. Pluripotent stem cells also hold great promise for the treatment of diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Navara’s group is using non-human primates as preclinical models for the safe testing and optimization of these therapies prior to use in the clinic.