Taylor Guertin

Taylor started in the Tremblay lab as an undergraduate student and completed an honors thesis aimed at defining a role for retinoic acid signaling during early liver development. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the spring of 2019, Taylor stayed as a master’s student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) program before transitioning into the PhD program at the start of 2022. Taylor has worked on the Knockout Mouse Project and investigated novel organogenesis-lethal knockout mouse lines with a focus on resulting placental defects. Currently as a part of her dissertation, she is assessing the role of FGF signaling in vivo during early liver development and more broadly elucidating the underappreciated heterogeneity that supports these initial stages of development. As a part of a new adventure, Taylor is eager to use her bachelor’s in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to apply biochemical methods and principles to the study of developmental biology as she studies the role of N-linked glycosylation and proper ER homeostasis during placental morphogenesis. 

Following the completion of her PhD, Taylor is interested in pursuing a career as an academic researcher studying the placenta to further understand the underlying etiology of severe pregnancy complications such as recurrent miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction of the fetus.

When not in the lab, Taylor can usually be found either at the rock climbing gym or outside training for the next half-marathon/triathlon.