Bio

Jacquelyn Taylor is an Associate Professor of Nursing and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar in the Division of Primary Care at the Yale School of Nursing. Her research interests are: Omics [genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics], hypertension, metabolic syndrome, pediatrics, across the lifespan, minority health

She earned her undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in nursing are from Wayne State University College of Nursing in Detroit Michigan.

Dr. Taylor is prepared as both a pediatric nurse practitioner and a school nurse practitioner. She holds a certificate in molecular genetics from Georgetown University and has completed additional coursework in cardiovascular epidemiology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Taylor also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Urban Health of Older Populations at the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Prior to her appointment at Yale, she served as a faculty member and coordinator of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Her research has been consistenly funded via University [University of Michigan Office of the Provost and School of Nursing Pilot Award], Foundation[Robert Wood Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars], and Federal sources [P20 and P30 pilots, K12 award, and an R01] all as PI.

Visit her study website here: https://intergen.yale.edu/

The MIT Department of Biology will host Dr. Taylor as a 2015-16 Visiting Associate Professor.

Publications

Anderson, C.M., Ralph, J.L., Scheett, A., Wright, M.L., Taylor, J.Y., Ohm, J.E., Uthus, E. (2014). First Trimester Vitamin D Status and Placental Epigenomics in Preeclampsia Among Northern Plains Primiparas. Life Sciences. Jul 19. pii: S0024-3205(14)00621-3. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2014.07.012. [Epub ahead of print]

Hickey, K.T., Taylor, J.Y., Sciacca, R.R., Abolelea, S., Gonzalez, P. & Frulla, A. (2014). Cardiac Genetic Testing: A Single-Center Pilot Study of a Dominican Population. Hispanic Health Care International: The Official Journal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses Association;12(4):183-8. doi: 10.1891/1540-4153.12.4.183.

Bomotti, S., Smith, J.A., Zagel, A., Taylor, J.Y., Turner, S.T., & Kardia, S.L.R. (2013). Epigenetic Markers of Renal Function in African Americans. Nursing Research & Practice, 2013(687519), 1-9. PMCID: PMC3874945

Clark, A. E., Adamian, M., & Taylor, J.Y. (2013). An Overview of Epigenetics in Nursing. Nursing Clinics of North America, 48,649-659. PMCID: PMC3873714

Taylor, J.Y., Peternell, B., & Smith, J.A. (2013). Attitudes toward Genetic Testing for Hypertension among African American Women and Girls. Nursing Research & Practice, 2013(341374), 1-10. 

Dahlen, H., Kennedy, H., Anderson, C., Bell, A., Clark, A., Foureur, M., Ohm, J., Shearman, A., Taylor, J.Y.,Wright, M., & Downe, S. (2013). The EPIIC Hypothesis: Intrapartum Effects on the Neonatal Epigenome and Consequent Health Outcomes. Medical Hypotheses.

Taylor, J.Y., Kraja, A., de las Fuentes, L., Stanfill, A., Clark, A., & Cashion, A. (2013). An Overview of the Genomics of Metabolic Syndrome. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 45(1), 52-59.

Wung, S.F., Hickey, K., Taylor, J.Y. & Gellek, M. (2013). Cardiovascular Genomics. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 45(1), 60-68.

Taylor, J.Y., Sampson, D., Taylor, A., Caldwell, D., & Sun, Y. (2013). Genetic and BMI risks for predicting blood pressure in three generations of West African Dogon Women. Biological Research for Nursing, 15(1), 105-111.

Taylor, J.Y., Sun, Y., Wu, C., Darling, D., Kardia, S.L.K, & Jackson, J.S. (2012). Effects of SLC4A5 and Skin Color on Blood Pressure among African American Women. Ethnicity & Disease, 22(2), 155-161.

Taylor, J.Y., Sun, Y., Hunt, S. & Kardia, S. (2010). Gene-environment interaction for blood pressure among African American women across generations. Biological Research for Nursing, 12(2), 149-55.

Taylor, J.Y., Maddox, R. & Wu, C. (2009). Genetic and Environmental Risks for Hypertension among African American Girls and their Mothers. Biological Research for Nursing, 11(1), 53-65.

Taylor, J. & Wu, C. Y. (2009). Effects of Genetic Counseling for Hypertension on Changes in Lifestyle Behaviors among African American Women. Journal of the National Black Nurses Association, 20(1), 1-9.

Taylor, J.Y. (2009). Recruitment of Three Generations of African American Women into Genetic Research. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(2), 219-226.

Taylor, J.Y., Sun, Y., Chu, J., Mosley, T. & Kardia, S. (2008). Interactions between metallopeptidase 3 polymorphisms rs679620 and BMI in predicting blood pressure in African American women with Hypertension. Journal of Hypertension, 26, 2312-2318.

Course

Breakthrough Genetics Course Offers Hands-on Lab Experience with Online Learning

As Yale School of Nursing prepares to enter an exciting new era of education with the fall 2013 opening of its new headquarters at the University’s West Campus, a new introductory course on genetics and genomics will take a groundbreaking approach merging online advancements with invaluable, hands-on laboratory experience.

Using this two-pronged, innovative system of online course modules and on-site laboratory sessions, the 16-week “Lab-Nurse” program will result in YSN’s first ever certificate in Laboratory Genetics in Nursing Science.

“By incorporating emerging technology with the beneficial ease and convenience of online communication, the course will expand on traditional hands-on laboratory genetic education and didactic forms of learning as a foundation for genetics education in nursing,” said Associate Professor Jacquelyn Taylor, PhD, PNP-BC, RN, FAAN.

“It’s advancing laboratory genetics for nursing science,” said Taylor, who also serves as co-chair of the Genetics Expert Panel for the American Academy of Nursing, and was recently awarded the International Society of Nurses in Genetics Founders Award for Outstanding Genetics Research and Scholarship.

“What I want to do is create a course where the didactic portion is online, so students will get the content they need in topics such as Mendelian genetics, genotype to phenotype, heredity of common and complex disease, chromosomal basis of disease, monogenetic disorders, and polygenetic disorders,” she said. “I’ll then apply the principles from the online portion of the class using different laboratory techniques so students will be able to see how these basic principles may be used to apply and translate genetic findings in practice.”

The online modules with didactic information, interactive tools, and discussion threads will be completed biweekly over the course of a semester, with an accompanying on-site lab component designed to build on the modules’ lessons held on a corresponding biweekly basis.

“It enhances their learning of the basic scientific course work, and allows them to actually get the hands-on experience of how some of these tests are run, some of the problems you can run into when performing some of the tests, and how long it can actually take to get some of the results,” said Taylor.

When Taylor first arrived at YSN from the University of Michigan in 2008, her driving mission was to further advance nursing education in genetic research.

“I knew I was interested in finding out about how the body works and how I could best help people with hypertension-related issues in the long term,” she said. “I always wanted to do something that wasn’t just basic bedside nursing, but something to propel it to another level of care.”

Adopting technological advancements in the classroom has become second nature to Taylor, who also developed and teaches a primarily online-based YSN course on Research Methods for Evidence- Based Practice.

“It was just a normal didactic to go in once a week and lecture for two hours with standard assignments. I taught it that same traditional way for two years before I transformed it to an online course,” Taylor said. “I just felt we needed to move into the technology age.”

Her research methods course has drawn rave reviews from students, who attend four classroom- based sessions per semester in addition to utilizing the online format’s 24/7 integrated learning modules, examinations, and discussion forums. “A lot of our students, particularly the MSN students, spend a great deal of their time in clinical because they’re working on becoming advanced practice nurses in various areas, such as pediatric nurse practitioners, midwifery, and so on,” said

Taylor. “The important part is they’re all adult learners, very bright, astute students who are also tech savvy, so I think the online modules are perfect for these students.”

Further energizing Taylor is the opportunity to debut the Lab-Nurse course at Yale’s West Campus with the relocation of YSN expected to be completed by fall 2013 in time for the school’s 90th anniversary.

“I’ll now have my own laboratory space not only to do my own research, but also to incorporate nursing education for genetics,” she said. “Most nursing programs do not provide any hands-on laboratory experiences in their genetic coursework. Nursing education is limited in the genetics curriculum as it is, let alone hands-on laboratory experiences, because many schools of nursing do not have their own laboratory space or adequately equipped space.”

Taylor’s goal is to help guide the new generation of nurses, who will be able to translate basic genetic science into practice for optimum, individualized, patient-focused care.

“You want to see it applied to practice, with students not just understanding it at the molecular level, but understanding how this will truly impact patient care,” she said. “I think nurses sometimes tend to feel that their role is more at the bedside and not necessarily the bench. Nurses can play a pivotal role at both ends of the spectrum in translating the bench science to the bedside.”

Teaching genetics and genomics is rare for graduate nursing programs throughout the nation, with only a small minority offering genetics and genomics as a major or minor in their curriculum for advanced practice nurses. Even when they are offered, Taylor explained, most graduate nursing programs tend to be geared toward a predominantly qualitative approach.

“That laboratory component of genomic education in nursing curriculum is lacking, and I think it can be intimidating for nurses because they haven’t had that experience,” she said. “Nurses tend to have a plethora of clinical experience that is part of their undergraduate and MSN training. However, they may feel a bit inadequate when it comes to a basic genetics course with a laboratory component because they have never had such a course. It is my hope that the Lab-Nurse program will help nurses and other health professionals who are interested in genetics to articulate when certain genetic tests are necessary, how they are conducted in the lab, and how best to interpret those results for use in better patient care.”

Taylor believes the introductory course has the potential to be cross-listed with several disciplines, open to any graduate student with an eagerness to learn.

“This course could be open not only to nursing students, but also to those in public health, psychology, sociology, engineering, medical students—anyone who has some type of interest in genetics,” she added.

At MIT

Lead author on“A Genome-wide study of blood pressure in African Americans accounting for gene-smoking interaction,” Scientific Reports (11 Jan 2016)

Appointment: Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Yale School of Nursing (Dec 2015)

MLK Luncheon Seminar: "Hypertension Genomics and Nursing Science: A Tale of 3 Studies, and counting…" (15 Dec 2015)