Dr. LaVentrice D. Taylor
Associate Professor
Graduate Coordinator, Master of Science in Science-Biology Program
Department of Biology
School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Morgan State University
1700 E. Coldspring Lane
Baltimore, Maryland 21251

Dixon Room 212
(tel) 443-885-1997
lataylor@moac.morgan.edu

Biographical Sketch

I was born and raised in New England and received my B.S. in Biology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Subsequently, I headed south to North Carolina and earned a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduate school, I moved west to California for my two Post-doctoral fellowships. My first fellowship was at the Food Science and Technology Department of U.C. Davis in which I studied the structure and function myosin heavy chain isoforms in normal and dystrophic chickens. Next , I worked at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco on the effect of aging on the GI mucosal immune system of nonhuman primates. Prior to moving back East to Maryland, I spent four years in Arkansas doing research for the Food and Drug Administration on the effects of toxicants on the immune system. In the past seven years, I have enjoyed interacting with students, faculty and staff at Morgan State University as an Assistant Professor from Fall 1994-2000 and Associates Professor since Fall of 2000. I have held the following positions: Pre-Medical Student Advisor, MBRS principle investigator, RIMI Activity Leader, MARC and MBRS student mentor, and Coordinator of the Masters Program. I have found it challenging and exciting juggling all of these roles.

Research Interest

1. Analysis of the effect of the antiviral, ddI on rat lymphocytes using cell culture flow cytometry.
    
2. Comparison of the response to ddC and d4T exposure of T cells in wild-type and knockout C57BL/6 mice.
    
3. Inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of programmed cell death or apoptosis in human T leukemic cells by antiviral nucleosides.
    
4. Thalidomide-induced disruption of cell-cell interactions between human T lymphoblastic cells.
   

Publications

1. Ezell,T.N., Maloney, N., Githua, J.W., and Taylor, L.D. 2003. Exposure to the anti-TNF-alpha drug thalidomide induces apoptotic cell death in human T leukemic cells. Cell. Molecul. Biol. 49, 1117-1124.
2. Settles, B., Stevenson, A., Wilson K., Mack, C., Ezell, T., and Taylor, L.D. 2001. Down-regulation of cell adhesion molecules LFA-1 and ICAM-1 after in vitro exposure wit the anti-TNF-alpha agent thalidomide. Cell. Molec. Biol. 47, 1105-1114.
3. Clausing, P., Ali, S.F., Taylor, L.D., Newport, G.D., Rybak, S., and Paule, M.G. 1996. Central and peripheral neurochemical alterations and immune effects of prenatal ethanol exposure in rats. Int. J. Devel. Neurosci. 14, 461-469.
4. Taylor, L.D., Binienda, Z., Schmued, L. and Slikker, W., jr. 1994. The effect of dideoxycytidine (ddC) on the immune function of immunocompetent nonhuman primates. Fund. Appl. Toxicol. 23, 434-438.
5. Taylor, L.D., Daniels, C.K., and Schmucker, D.L., 1992, Aging compromises gastrointestinal mucosal immune response in rhesus monkey. Immunol. 75, 614-618.
6. Taylor, L.D., Jones, and Schmucker, D.L. (1992). Does aging affect liver microtubules? Proc. Soc Exp. Biol. Med. 199, 441-445.
7. Taylor, L.D., Daniels, C.K., and Schmucker, D.L. 1990. Does aging impair gastrointestinal mucosal immunity? Aging: Immunology and Infect. Dis. 2, 205-209.
8. Taylor, L.D., Daniels, C.K., and Schmucker, D.L. (1990). Is gastrointestinal mucosal immune response compromised in old primates? Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on mucosal Immunology, Elsevier, Amsterdam
9. Taylor, L.D. and E. Bandman. 1989. Distribution of fast myosin heavy chain isoforms in thick filaments of developing chicken pectoral muscle. J. Cell Biol. 108, 533-542.

Selected Most Recent Abstracts

1. Tarrah Ezell, LaVentrice Taylor. Do Thalidomide and Pentoxifylline have the ability to alter the level of Protein Kinase C in Monocytic Cells? Poster presentation on December 8, 2004 for the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, Baltimore, MD.
2. Tarrah N. Ezell, Ellis Benjamin Gregory Shields, Yousef Hijji, LaVentrice D. Taylor. Do Cells Treated with Thalidomide Analog H1 and H2 Exhibit Decreased Cytotoxicity As Compared to Cells Treated with Thalidomide? Oral presentation on December 10, 2004 during the 9th RCMI International Symposium on Health Disparities, Baltimore. MD.
3. Taylor, L.D., Paysour, N., Ezell, T., Redmond, B., and Denaro, F. The Use of Calcein-AM and TMRM as Fluorescence Markers to Analyze the Effect of TNF-alpha, Thalidomide and Pentoxifylline on Hela Cells. The 44th Annual Meeting of American Society for Cell Biology, Washington, D.C., December 2004.
4. Taylor, L.D., Ezell, T, and Maloney, N. A comparison of responses of human monocytic cells and human cervical carcinoma cells to the anti-TNF-alpha and anti-inflammatory agents thalidomide and pentoxifylline. The RCMI Internal Symposium, Baltimore, MD, February 6, 2004
5. Ezell, T., Taylor, L. Does thalidomide have the ability to alter protein kinase C signaling transduction pathway? The 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology, Baltimore, MD, March 2004.
6. Ezell, T., Taylor, L. D. Does thalidomide alter protein kinase C signaling transduction pathway? The 11th Undergraduate and Graduate Science Research Symposium MSU April 15, 2004
7. Taylor, L.D., Ezell, T, and Maloney, N. A comparison of responses of human monocytic cells and human cervical carcinoma cells to the anti-TNF-alpha and anti-inflammatory agents thalidomide and pentoxifylline. The 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, San Francisco, CA, December 2003.
8. Ezell, T., Maloney, N., Taylor, L. D. Does thalidomide alter protein kinase C signaling transduction pathway? The 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, San Francisco, CA, December 2003.