Dr. Kimberly Taylor is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Chief of the Division of Microbiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, WA. Dr. Taylor is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the American Medical Schools Microbiology and Immunology Chairs association, and is an associate faculty member of the Columbia University Seminars on Pollution and Water Resources. Dr. Taylor’s research interest has historically rested in the area of global climate change and its impact on communicable disease with a particular emphasis on the occurrence and distribution of vector- and water-borne pathogens as global warming advances. However, most recently, she has begun research addressing the newly identified odontopathogen Scardovia wiggsiae and its role as an infectious agent of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) or “bottle caries” – an element of the most common chronic disease of childhood: cavities. Dr. Taylor is also interested in community education regarding prevention of ECC and working toward the goal of decreasing the rate of this infectious disease in children in Yakima County. She and her family proudly serve PNWU and its mission in the Yakima Valley area, as well as the Pacific Northwest as a whole.
