OUR PEOPLE
Academic Credentials
- Ph.D., Chemistry, Stanford University, 2017
- M.A., Education, Loyola Marymount University, 2011
- B.S., Biochemistry, Loyola Marymount University, 2010
Academic Appointments
- Lecturer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Loyola Marymount University, 2010-2011
Professional Honors
- Stanford Chemistry Safety in Teaching and Research Award, 2016
- Stanford Chemistry Evelyn Laing McBain Award for significant research progress, 2016
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 2012-2015
- Scholar of the Year, Loyola Marymount University, 2010
- Rhodes Scholarship Finalist, 2010
- Ä¢¹½tv Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee Member
Professional Affiliations
- American Chemical Society
Dr. Vargas is a chemist who specializes in compositional analysis of complex materials in support of product development, manufacturing, and root cause analyses, with an emphasis on materials for biomedical applications. She has diverse experience in the fields of polymer science, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and drug and gene delivery.
Dr. Vargas has experience conducting chemical analysis to evaluate product compositions as well as assessing products for potential issues related to quality, contamination, stability, and biocompatibility. Her interdisciplinary training in chemistry and biochemistry enables her to support clients in applications related to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, wearables, food, cleaning products, cosmetics, and other consumer products. She has applied her expertise to matters related to materials selection, process development and process validation, extractable and leachable assessments, and product recalls.
Dr. Vargas is experienced in designing and validating non-standard methods for chemical evaluations, and she is skilled in the techniques utilized in organic synthesis and small molecule characterization, including NMR, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy, as well as chromatography and mass spectrometry methods such as GC-MS, HPLC, LC-MS, and MALDI-TOF. She also has practical knowledge characterizing polymeric materials and nanoparticles using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements.
Dr. Vargas was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University, where she developed biodegradable block copolymers for small molecule and nucleic acid drug delivery, such as pDNA, siRNA, and mRNA. Her research leveraged organocatalytic polymerization techniques to synthesize functionalized polycarbonates and polyesters. She designed cellular and in vivo assays to measure the delivery efficiency and cytotoxicity of the resulting biomaterials using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and bioluminescent imaging. She also previously interned at W.L. Gore & Associates, where she developed and qualified analytical test methods used in coated stent manufacturing.
