Hannah Taylor
Graduate Student
About Hannah
Hannah grew up in New Castle, Delaware and attended an arts-focused high school, where she majored in piano. After high school she moved to Boston and attended Northeastern University where she switched her focus to science. During her undergraduate career Hannah studied how to make antibiotic treatments more effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Northeastern University, Lewis lab), how to improve cancer vaccines and adoptive T cell therapies (Neon Therapeutics), and the mechanism of different oncogenes in T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Barata lab). Her time at Neon sparked her interest in immunology and antigen presentation and recognition. Following graduation Hannah took two gap years at the Broad Institute to learn mass spectrometry and immunopeptidomics, the study of peptide presentation on HLA molecules. She is currently in the MD/PhD program.
Outside of lab, Hannah has several hobbies including hanging out with her friends and two cats, swimming at the point, baking, camping, hiking, running, and rock climbing. She is currently trying to get back into playing the piano.
Education
Northeastern University, B.S. December 2019.
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Undergraduate research in the Kim Lewis Lab under the supervision of Dr. Kirsten Meyer
Favorite Quote
“I have come to believe that it is our life's work to tear down this order, to keep tugging at it, trying to unravel it, to set free the organisms trapped underneath. That it is our life's work to mistrust our measures. Especially those about moral and mental standing. To remember that behind every ruler there is a Ruler. To remember that a category is at best a proxy; at worst, a shackle.”
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-Lulu Miller, Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
Scientific Hero
Polly Matzinger
Favorite Paper
BCG Educates Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Generate Protective Innate Immunity against Tuberculosis. Eva Kaufmann, et al. Cell. 2018.
If you could be a piece of lab equipment, what would you be?
A mouse because I have free will.
Hannah's Research
Hannah is currently studying the mechanism of innate immune memory in humans. She is learning various sequencing techniques including RNA-, ChIP-, and ATAC-seq. She is co-advised by Dr. Luis Barreiro.