Kristen Taylor will graduate this Saturday from the University of Virginia, a place that has held a significant place in her life since she was a baby.
Not only is UVA where she has spent the past four years earning a degree in cognitive science (with a minor in studio art), it is also where she got life-saving surgery when she was only 14 months old.
During a wellness check-up in Norfolk, where the family lived, doctors heard a heart murmur. Her family was referred to UVA Health Children’s, where she underwent heart surgery.
“I was diagnosed with pulmonary stenosis, where my heart valves were just too tight that it restricted blood flow to the lungs,” she said.
She and her mother, Chizoro Taylor, remained in the hospital for a week. “She received such great care that the institution left such a lasting impression on me,” said Chizoro, who is now the director of neuroscience and oncology, as well as a physician associate, at UVA Health. “(It’s funny that), as a military brat, she followed me a good portion of her life, but now I kind of followed her to UVA.”
Like her daughter, Chizoro also will graduate this weekend, earning a doctorate in translational health science from George Washington University.
“Transitional health science is basically taking research from the lab to the bedside,” she said. “A lot of research that happens in a lab is not being translated to patient populations.”
Before joining UVA Health, Chizoro worked at Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut. During the pandemic, she worked next to the Pfizer building where the COVID-19 vaccine was being developed, while local residents were not educated about the vaccine and had low vaccination rates. That sparked her interest in translational science and ensuring that research moves beyond the lab to the communities that it will benefit.
The pair call themselves “reciprocal motivators.” (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
“I think we are reciprocal motivators, because I feel like I chose my path because of how hard my mom works,” Kristen said.
Graduating on the pre-medicine track, Kristen is currently wrapping up medical school applications with the goal of being a pediatric cardiologist, like Dr. G. Paul Matherne of UVA Health, who treated her all those years ago.
Kristen served as secretary of the Daniel Hale Williams Pre-Health Honor Society, named after the first person in the U.S. to perform a successful open-heart surgery. She also worked as a research assistant in the Early Development Lab and community outreach program run by the developmental psychology division of the UVA Department of Psychology.
“We’ve been interviewing kids about their mood and looking at how music and different stimuli can influence a child’s social behavior,” she said.
Kristen’s path toward medical school has had its struggles. Her inspiration and support network, including her mother, kept her motivated, she said.
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