Samuel Taylor, PhD

Hello, I’m Sam.

I'm a physician-scientist in training in the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD program in New York City. I author original scientific publications, train young physicians and scientists, and care for those affected by severe and complex illnesses.

My current area of focus is cellular metabolism. Early in my PhD I became fascinated with the acute and profound changes I witnessed in cells and tissues exposed to low oxygen, or "hypoxia." Investigating these changes has led me to take on a variety of projects from designing translational studies of intestinal physiology to developing computational solutions for interpreting high-dimensional metabolomics data. Take a look below to see a bit of what I've been up to!

About Me

Ongoing projects

Studying fructose metabolism in the intestine and beyond

Fructose is known to promote obesity and colorectal cancer, but here we provide a compelling explanaition for why. It turns out that fructose activates hypoxia-sensing pathways inside gut cells and intestinal tumors, allowing them to survive longer and absorb more nutrients.

View article in Nature Magazine

Studying fructose metabolism in the intestine and beyond

Automating villus image analysis

The gut epithelium comprises a variety of complex structures. When we began examining the gut for changes due to fructose, it became clear that we needed a new tool to isolate and quantify the structures we were interested in. This effort led to VilliQuant, an image analysis program that quantifies intestinal villus length in a rapid, high-throughput, and reproducible manner.

Go to GitHub repository

Visualizing high-dimensional metabolomics data

Stable isotope tracing experiments are critical when you are studying how cells and tissues use certain nutrients, but these metabolomics experiments generate a deluge of high-dimensional data than are hard to parse and interpret. In my ongoing efforts to surmount this problem, I have developed and continue to improve several open-source solutions to analyze and present LC-MS data.

Launch data browser

Visualizing high-dimensional metabolomics data

Educating the next generation

It is often said that medical students will know the most they will ever know about medicine the day they take their United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Early in my medical school career I was recruited by MedSchoolCoach to help students achieve success on these difficult and comprehensive exams. Today I tutor independently, emphasizing a mechanistic approach to clinical problems that encourages students to understand the "why" of medicine.

Test your knowledge!

Dec 2018 - Mar 2020

Senior USMLE Tutor & Medical School Admissions Coach

MedSchoolCoach

Aug 2017 - Dec 2018

Academic Advisor & Peer Tutor

Weill Cornell Medicine

Aug 2014 - Jun 2015

NCI Research Fellow (CRTA Awardee)

National Cancer Institute

Jun 2013 - Aug 2013

Global Market Research Intern

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Experience

After more than 10 years experience in industry and academia I have developed a wide range of skills that have helped me excel in research, in patient care, and in training the next generation of physicians and scientists.

Linkedin Download My Resume

Education

2015-2022

Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program

Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry, Doctor of Medicine

2010-2014

Yale University

Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, in Economics