The blood-brain barrier plays a vital role in the physiological function of the central nervous system (CNS) by tightly controlling the entry of essential and harmful substances into the brain while maintaining a suitable microenvironment for normal neuronal function. Under steady state conditions, the blood-brain barrier also regulates the passage of immune cells from the bloodstream into the brain, providing immune privilege to the CNS. In response to pathological conditions, proinflammatory signals promote the infiltration of peripheral immune cells by modulating the function of the blood-brain barrier. When properly orchestrated, this inflammatory process provides protection from infection and damage in the CNS. In contrast, uncontrolled neuroinflammation initiates a cascade of detrimental effects that are implicated in the pathology of several neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the goal of our research program is to discover novel strategies for the treatment and prevention of these debilitating conditions by unraveling the complex interactions regulated by the blood-brain barrier during the induction and resolution of neuroinflammatory responses. Our research program uses innovative transgenic zebrafish models and cutting-edge technologies (CRISPR-Cas9, RNA-Seq, in vivo confocal imaging) to study the formation and function of the blood-brain barrier, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuroinflammation, and the genetic regulation of inflammation resolution.

• Faculty Senate, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• NIH, Grant Reviewer

• Internal Grant Review Committee, The Hartwell Foundation-Individual Biomedical Research Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Confocal Microscopy Core Facility, School of Pharmacy, Director

• Animal Use Committee, School of Pharmacy

• Admissions Committee Member, Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. Program

• Faculty Trainer: Cellular Molecular Pathology Training Program; Neuroscience Training Program; Genetics Training Program

• Current PhD Graduate Students: Dylan Sebo, Pharmaceutical Sciences(12/19-present); Audrey Fetsko, Pharmaceutical Sciences (12/18-present)

• Current Undergraduate Students: Alli Scharbarth, Pharmacology & Toxicology (09/22-present); Lilyana Budzynski, Pharmacology Toxicology (01/23-present); Aubrey Trimbach, Neurobiology Program (01/23-present)

Background: Dr. Taylor received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis (1993) and his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Washington (2002). He was an Assistant Member at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital from 2008-2014 and became an Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2014.

Education:

• BS, Biochemistry - University of California, Davis
• PhD, Biochemistry - University of Washington, Seattle
• Postdoctoral Training - University of California, San Francisco

Honors and Awards:

• Teacher of the Year, Doctor of Pharmacy Program (DPH-2), UW-Madison (2023)
• Vilas Life Cycle Professorship, UW-Madison (2021)
• Teacher of the Year, Pharmacology and Toxicology Program, UW-Madison (2021)
• Fall Research Competition Award, UW-Madison (2020)
• Art of Science Contest, Aquaneering, Third Place (2019)
• Fall Research Competition Award, UW-Madison (2018)
• Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Award, UW-Madison (2018)
• Cool Science Image Contest, UW-Madison, Winner (2016)
• Excellence in Teaching Award, UTHSC (2012)
• Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, First Place (2012)
• E. Matilda Ziegler Foundation for the Blind Award (2010)
• The Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award (2009)
• UCSF/SFSU Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship (2007)
• National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral National Research Service Award (2006)
• American Epilepsy Society Young Investigator Travel Award (2005)
• American Epilepsy Society Fellowship (2005)
• National Institutes of Health Predoctoral National Research Service Award (1997)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention (1996)
• Phi Sigma Honor Society, UC Davis (1993)

Society Memberships:

• North American Vascular Biology Organization (2023-present)
• International Brain Barriers Society (2010-present)
• Society for Neuroscience (2008-present)
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (2008-present)
• American Epilepsy Society (2004-2007)

Courses:

• Pharmacology I (PHMSCI 521)
• Drug Delivery Systems (PHMSCI 540)
• Laboratory Techniques in Pharmacology & Toxicology (PHMSCI 558)
• Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PHMSCI 780)
• Survey of Pharmacology (PHMSCI 401)
• Neuroscience Training Program Subgroup (NTP 900)
• Neurobiology Seminar (ZOO 500)

Teaching Awards:

• 2023 Teacher of the Year, Doctor of Pharmacy Program, UW-Madison
• 2021 Teacher of the Year, Pharmacology and Toxicology Program, UW-Madison
• 2012 Excellence in Teaching Award, UTHSC

• Sebo, D. J., Ali, I., Fetsko, A. R., Trimbach, A., Taylor, M. R. (2025) Activation of Wnt/β-catenin in neural progenitor cells regulates blood-brain barrier development and promotes neuroinflammation. Scientific Reports 15:3496. 
• Baril, S. A., Wilson, K. A., Shaik, M. M., Fukuda, Y., Umans, R. A., Barbieri, A., Lynch, J., Gose, T., Myasnikov, A., Oldham, M., Wang, Y., Zhu, J., Fang, J., Zuo, J., Kalathur, R., Ford, R. C., Coffin, A., Taylor, M. R., O’Mara, M. L., and Schuetz, J. D. (2024) From orphan disease to otoliths: The role of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 6 in the inner ear. Nature Communications 15:9885.
• McCann, T., Sundaramurthi, H., Walsh, C., Virdi, S., Alvarez, Y., Rebow, B. S., Collery, R., Carter, S. P., Moran, A., Mulholland, R., O’Connor, J. J., Taylor, M. R., Rauch, N., Starostik, M. R., English, M. A., Swaroop, A., Geisler, R., Reynolds, A. L., Kennedy, B. N. (2024) Emc1 is essential for vision and zebrafish photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis. FASEB Journal 38:e70086.
• Fetsko, A. R., Sebo, D. J., Budzynski, L., Scharbarth, A., and Taylor, M. R. (2024) Interleukin-1β disrupts the initiation of blood-brain barrier development by inhibiting endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling. iScience 27:109651.
• Fetsko, A. R., Sebo, D. J., Taylor, M. R. (2023) Brain endothelial cells acquire blood-brain barrier properties in the absence of Vegf-dependent CNS angiogenesis. Developmental Biology 494:46-59.
• Sebo, D. J., Fetsko, A. R., Phipps, K. K., Taylor, M. R. (2022) Functional identification of the zebrafish Interleukin-1 receptor in an embryonic model of IL-1β-induced systemic inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology 13:1039161.
• Lanham, K. A., Nedden, M. L., Wise, V. E., Taylor, M. R. (2022) Genetically-inducible and reversible zebrafish model of systemic inflammation. Biology Open 11(3):bio058559.
• Yue, M. S., Martin, S. E., Martin, N. R., Taylor, M. R., Plavicki, J. S. (2021) 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin exposure disrupts development of the visceral and ocular vasculature. Aquatic Toxicology 234:105786.
• Henson, H. E. and Taylor, M. R. (2020) A sart1 zebrafish mutant results in developmental defects in the central nervous system. Cells 9:2340.
• Ali Z., Mukwaya A., Biesemeier A., Ntzouni M., Ramskold D., Giatrellis S., Mammadzada P., Cao R., Lennikov A., Marass M., Gerri C., Hildesjö C., Taylor M., Deng Q., Peebo B., del Peso L., Kvanta A., Sandberg R., Schraermeyer U., Andre H., Steffensen J., Lagali N., Cao Y., Kele J., and Jensen L. (2019) Intussusceptive vascular remodeling precedes pathological neovascularization. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 39:1402-18.
• Gawdzik, J. C., Yue, M. S., Martin, N. R., Elemans, L. M. H., Lanham, K. A., Heideman, W., Rezendes, R., Baker, T. R., Taylor, M. R., Plavicki, J. S. (2018). sox9b is required in cardiomyocytes for cardiac morphogenesis and function. Scientific Reports 8:13906.
• Teitz T., Fang J., Goktug A. N., Bonga J. D., Diao S., Hazlitt R. A., Iconaru L., Morfouace M., Currier D., Zhou Y., Umans R. A., Taylor M. R., Cheng C., Min J., Freeman B., Peng J., Roussel M. F., Kriwacki R., Guy R. K., Chen T, Zuo J. (2018). CDK2 inhibitors as candidate therapeutics for cisplatin- and noise-induced hearing loss. Journal of Experimental Medicine 215:1187-1203.
• Umans, R. A. Henson, H. E., Mu, F., Parupalli, C., Ju, B., Peters, J. L., Lanham, K. A., Plavicki, J. S., and Taylor, M. R. (2017). CNS angiogenesis and barriergenesis occur simultaneously. Developmental Biology 425:101-108. (Cover art)
• Ju, B., Chen, W., Orr, B. A., Spitzbergen, Jia, S., Eden, C. J., Henson, H. E., Taylor, M. R. (2015). Oncogenic KRAS promotes malignant brain tumors in zebrafish. Molecular Cancer 14:18.
• Eden, C. J., Ju, B., Murugesan, M., Phoenix, T., Nimmervoll, B., Tong, Y., Ellison, D. W., Lessman, C. A., Taylor, M. R.*, and Gilbertson, R. J.* (2015) Orthotopic models of pediatric brain tumors in zebrafish. Oncogene 34:1736-42. *Co-corresponding authors.
• Henson, H. E., Parupalli, C., Ju, B., Taylor, M. R. (2014). Functional and genetic analysis of choroid plexus development in zebrafish. Frontiers in Neuroscience 8:364.
• Wu,, G., Diaz, A. K., Paugh, B. S., Rankin, S. L., Ju, B., Li, Y., Zhu, X., Qu, C., Chen, X., Zhang, J., Easton, J., Edmonson, M., Ma, X., Lu, C., Nagahawatte, P., Hedlund, E., Rusch, M., Pounds, S., Lin, T., Onar-Thomas, A., Huether, R., Kriwacki, R., Parker, M., Gupta, P., Becksfort, J., Wei, L., Mulder, H. L., Boggs, K., Vadodaria, B., Yergeau, D., Russell, J. C., Ochoa, K., Fulton, R. S., Fulton, L. L., Jones, C., Boop, F. A., Broniscer, A., Wetmore, C., Gajjar, A., Ding, L., Mardis, E. R., Wilson, R. K., Taylor, M. R., Downing, J. R., Ellison, D. W., Zhang, J., and Baker, S. J. (2014) The genomic landscape of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma and pediatric non-brainstem high-grade glioma. Nature Genetics 46:444-50.
• Ju, B., Chen, W., Spitsbergen, J. M. Lu, J., Vogel, P., Peters, J. L., Wang, Y. D., Henson, H. E., Jia, S., Parupalli, C., and Taylor, M. R. (2014) Activation of Sonic hedgehog signaling in neural progenitor cells promotes glioma development in the zebrafish optic pathway. Oncogenesis 3:e96.
• Jia, S., Muto, A., Orisme, W., Henson, H. E., Parupalli, C., Ju, B., Baier, H., and Taylor, M. R. (2014) Zebrafish Cacna1fa is required for cone photoreceptor function and synaptic ribbon formation. Human Molecular Genetics 23:2981-94.
• Quintana, A. M., Picchione, F., Klein Geltink, R. I., Taylor, M. R.*, and Grosveld, G. C.* (2013) Zebrafish etv7 regulates red blood cell development through the cholesterol synthesis pathway. Disease Models and Mechanisms 7:265-70. *Co-corresponding authors.
• Muto, A.*, Taylor, M. R.*, Suzawa, M., Korenbrot, J. I., and Baier, H. (2013) Glucocorticoid receptor activity regulates light adaptation in the zebrafish retina. Frontiers in Neural Circuits 7:145. *Co-first authors.
• Vrijens, K., Lin, W., Cui, J., Farmer, D., Low, J., Pronier, E., Zeng, F. Y., Shelat, A. A., Guy, K., Taylor M. R., Chen, T., and Roussel, M. F. (2013). Identification of small molecule activators of BMP signaling. PLoS One 8:e59045.
• Umans, R. A. and Taylor, M. R. (2012). Zebrafish as a model to study drug transporters at the blood-brain barrier. Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics 92:567-70. (Cover Art)
• Ju, B., Spitsbergen, J., Eden, C. J., Taylor, M. R., Chen, W. (2009). Co-activation of hedgehog and AKT pathways promotes tumorigenesis in zebrafish. Molecular Cancer 8:40-5.
• Nevin, L. M., Taylor, M. R., and Baier, H. (2008). Hardwiring of fine synaptic layers in the zebrafish visual pathway. Neural Development 3:36-48.
• Baraban, S. C., Dinday, M. T., Castro, P. A., Chege, S., Guyenet, S., and Taylor, M. R. (2007).   A large-scale mutagenesis screen to identify seizure-resistant zebrafish. Epilepsia 48:1151-7.
• Kennedy, B. N., Alvarez, Y., Brockerhoff, S. E., Stearns, G. W., Sapetto-Rebow, B., Taylor, M. R., and Hurley, J. B. (2007). Identification of a zebrafish cone photoreceptor-specific promoter and genetic rescue of achromatopsia in the nof mutant. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 48:522-9.
• Baraban, S. C., Taylor, M. R., Castro, P. A., and Baier, H. (2005). Pentylenetetrazole induced changes in zebrafish behavior, neural activity, and c-fos expression. Neuroscience 131:759-68. (Cover Art)
• Taylor, M. R., Kikkawa, S., Ramamurthy, V., Kawakami, K., and Brockerhoff, S. E. (2005). The zebrafish pob gene encodes a novel protein required for survival of red cone photoreceptor cells. Genetics 170:263-73.
• Taylor, M. R., Hurley, J. B., Van Epps, H. A., and Brockerhoff, S. E. (2004). A zebrafish model for pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency: rescue of neurological dysfunction and embryonic lethality using a ketogenic diet. Proceedings of the National Academy Science USA 101:4584-9.

University Service:

• Faculty Senate, Senator
• The Hartwell Foundation-Individual Biomedical Research Award, Internal Grant Reviewer
• Confocal Microscopy Core Facility, School of Pharmacy, Director
• Animal Use Committee, School of Pharmacy
• Graduate Studies Committee, School of Pharmacy
• Graduate Admissions Committee, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division

Professional Service:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH), Grant Reviewer
• Peer Review Board, Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE)
• Journal Reviewer: Brain Research, Cell Reports, Developmental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms, eLife, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Journal of Pharmacological & Toxicological Methods, Molecular Pharmacology, Nature Communications, Neuron, Scientific Reports