Training


Postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate training opportunities

  • Mentoring Philosophy

Dr. Taylor enjoys mentoring students and fellows in scientific research and career development and is grateful to have had the opportunity to direct significant research projects of over 70 trainees.  His mentoring plan combines the following training opportunities to promote the personal and scientific growth of trainees and set them up for future success as independent researchers:

Ø    Immersion in a research-intensive environment focused on translational pain research

Ø    Development of strong oral and written communication skills 

Ø    Acquisition of powerful experimental techniques

Ø    Exposure to a rich educational environment

Ø    Guidance for the development and achievement of long-term goals.

Past trainees

Dr. Taylor has supervised the dissertation projects of 9 Ph.D. students, 6 of whom have completed their training, and 4 of whom competed successfully for NIH F31 NRSAs (B. Solway, G. Corder, R. Griggs, and T. Nelson). PhD students typically publish 3-5 first author manuscripts in strong journals as a result of their work in the Taylor laboratory. Notable lab alumni include Dr. Greg Corder, the lead author who collected about ¾ of the data described in our Science paper, completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. G. Scherrer at Stanford University, received an NIH K99/R00 career award, and now has a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Taylor has also supervised the projects of over 20 postdoctoral PhD fellows, anesthesiology medical residents, and early career assistant professors, many of whom have received NIH funding and tenure-track positions in academia. For example, two postdoctoral fellows received prestigious F32 NRSA fellowships from the NIH (K. Kuphal, J. Brightwell), and four obtained tenure-track positions in academia (K.Kuphal, D. Soignier, F. Porto, D. Ruskin). He has mentored 7 anesthesiology medical residents in their research endeavors, including the first-author work of Dr. Sajay Churi describing his important research on new targets for pain control (Churi et al, 2008).

Dr. Taylor has directed the research projects of 30 undergraduate, 17 Master’s, and 4 medical students, many of whom co-authored publications or won prestigious research awards as a result of their work in the Taylor Lab. Many of these students have gone on to PhD, MD, or MD/PhD programs after graduation. 

Scientific Environment

In addition to the scientific resources available in the Taylor Lab, trainees will perform their research activities within the rich scientific environment of the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research (PCPR). The PCPR is one of the strongest centers in the world for pre- and post-graduate training in pain research, as illustrated by links to the many courses, seminars, workshops, research presentations, and clinical shadowing opportunities as listed on its website (https://pcpr.pitt.edu/). The 14th floor Taylor laboratory is in space that is contiguous to that of six of the seven other core faculty members who make up the PCPR, promoting a collegial atmosphere in which researchers willingly share their expertise with others. The PCPR T32 training grant is currently funded by the NIH through 2023 and supports two predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees per year. PCPR faculty have extensive experience in neurophysiology and optogenetic activation, in vivo imaging, mouse genetics, molecular and biochemical approaches, spinal cord anatomy and physiology, and a growing list of behavioral assays.

The strong research program and resources in the Taylor Lab combined with PCPR educational opportunities will provide trainees with a challenging yet supportive environment to develop their ability to perform rigorous scientific inquiry in the field of chronic pain research.  

Individuals interested in research training opportunities in the Taylor Lab are encouraged to contact Dr. Bradley Taylor via email at BKT@pitt.edu.