W. Robert Taylor

Biography

Dr. Taylor holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He obtained his training in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. After completing his training in cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Taylor joined the faculty of the Department of Medicine. He currently serves as the interim chair of the Emory University Department of Medicine, the director of Emory's Division of Cardiology, and a professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Taylor’s laboratory is focused on obtaining a better understanding of the role of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. His work employs novel animal models of human vascular disease to study the role of various mechanical and humoral factors in the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. He has a particular interest in the renin angiotensin system, advanced glycation endproducts, biomechanical forces and oxidative stress. A significant effort is also underway to examine the interaction between vascular inflammation and bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells. Dr. Taylor’s research program involves strong collaborative efforts with other members of the Department of Biomedical Engineering with a focus on applying enabling nanotechnology and imaging approaches to the general area of atherosclerosis. Dr. Taylor is a staff cardiologist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where he is an attending physician on the coronary care unit and cardiology consultation services. He also supervises fellows on the echocardiography rotation at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and has an outpatient congestive heart failure clinic at the VAMC. In addition to patient-based teaching on the coronary care unit, cardiology consultation, and echocardiography rotations at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, Dr. Taylor is an active participant in the Emory-Georgia Tech Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, where he supervises graduate students and lectures in departmental courses. He is also a member of the GDBBS and BCDB graduate programs at Emory University. Dr. Taylor holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He obtained his training in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. After completing his training in cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Taylor joined the faculty of the Department of Medicine. He currently serves as the interim chair of the Emory University Department of Medicine, the director of Emory's Division of Cardiology, and a professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Taylor’s laboratory is focused on obtaining a better understanding of the role of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. His work employs novel animal models of human vascular disease to study the role of various mechanical and humoral factors in the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. He has a particular interest in the renin angiotensin system, advanced glycation endproducts, biomechanical forces and oxidative stress. A significant effort is also underway to examine the interaction between vascular inflammation and bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells. Dr. Taylor’s research program involves strong collaborative efforts with other members of the Department of Biomedical Engineering with a focus on applying enabling nanotechnology and imaging approaches to the general area of atherosclerosis. Dr. Taylor is a staff cardiologist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where he is an attending physician on the coronary care unit and cardiology consultation services. He also supervises fellows on the echocardiography rotation at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and has an outpatient congestive heart failure clinic at the VAMC. In addition to patient-based teaching on the coronary care unit, cardiology consultation, and echocardiography rotations at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, Dr. Taylor is an active participant in the Emory-Georgia Tech Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, where he supervises graduate students and lectures in departmental courses. He is also a member of the GDBBS and BCDB graduate programs at Emory University.

Research Interest

My research laboratory is primarily focused on cardiovascular disease.  However, part of that work has expanded to diagnostics for bacterial infections relevant to the cardiovascular system.   Through an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Niren Murthy at UC Berkeley and Dr. Mark Goodman in Radiology at Emory, we have helped to develop a family of PET and Fluorescent imaging agents that are highly specific for bacteria.  These agents make use of the bacteria specific maltodextrin transporter which allows selective uptake of maltodextrins by bacteria.  This technology has been applied to facilitate detection of medical device-associated bacterial infections.   We are also exploring the possible use of this same strategy for targeted delivery of antibiotics.