Steve M Taylor

Professor of Medicine

My lab website has a fuller description of my research activities: https://sites.duke.edu/taylorlab/.

I am principally interested in field and translational studies of falciparum malaria. These interests fall along several lines:

1) Molecular Epidemiology. With partners principally in Kenya, we use community-based cohorts coupled with advanced genetic sequencing and immuno-epidemiologic approaches to better understand parasite transmission, clinical disease, and immunity. The goals of these studies are to identify opportunities to intervene at the community level to reduce malaria.

2) Pathogenesis. Severe malaria is a lethal disease; it is the cause of most of the 400,000 malaria deaths annually in African children. In these children, sickle-trait hemoglobin confers >90% protection from severe, life-threatening malaria. We are investigating the molecular genetic correlates of this phenomenon in in vitro and ex vivo systems in order to identify mechanisms by which sickle-trait neutralizes the parasite. By leveraging this naturally-occurring model of malaria protection we hope to ultimately identify druggable targets for future antiparasitic or adjunctive therapies.

3) Clinical trials. In malaria-endemic Africa, high-risk groups that suffer disproportionate malaria morbidity clearly benefit from focused malaria prevention strategies. We have trialed alternate chemoprevention regimens in children with sickle cell anemia in Kenya, and are currently testing in pregnant women in the DRC and Kenya the impact of enhanced screening for parasites early in pregnancy on the outcome of pregnancy. The goal of these projects is to enhance public health guidelines for the routine care of these high-risk groups and reduce the burden of malaria in African children.

The ultimate goals of these translational studies of falciparum malaria in children and pregnant women is to integrate epidemiologic, clinical, and molecular genetic models of disease in order to inform the rational design of medical and public health interventions to reduce the awful burden of malaria.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor of Medicine
  • Research Professor of Global Health

Contact Information

  • Office Location: 303 Research Drive, Sands Building #321A, Durham, NC 27710
  • Email Address: steve.taylor@duke.edu

Education

  • B.S. Duke University, 1998
  • M.P.H. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2003
  • M.D. Duke University, School of Medicine, 2004
  • Yale University, School of Medicine, 2007
  • Duke University, School of Medicine, 2012
  • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2012

Courses Taught

  • MIDIP 301B: Research in Microbiology and Infectious Disease Study Program

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Taylor, Steve M., Alejandro L. Antonia, Ebbie Chaluluka, Victor Mwapasa, Gaoqian Feng, Malcolm E. Molyneux, Feiko O. ter Kuile, Steven R. Meshnick, and Stephen J. Rogerson. “Antenatal receipt of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine does not exacerbate pregnancy-associated malaria despite the expansion of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum: clinical outcomes from the QuEERPAM study.” Clin Infect Dis 55, no. 1 (July 2012): 42–50. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cis301.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Christian M. Parobek, and Rick M. Fairhurst. “Haemoglobinopathies and the clinical epidemiology of malaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Lancet Infect Dis 12, no. 6 (June 2012): 457–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(12)70055-5.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Alejandro Antonia, Gaoqian Feng, Victor Mwapasa, Ebbie Chaluluka, Malcolm Molyneux, Feiko O. ter Kuile, Stephen J. Rogerson, and Steven R. Meshnick. “Adaptive evolution and fixation of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum genotypes in pregnancy-associated malaria: 9-year results from the QuEERPAM study.” Infect Genet Evol 12, no. 2 (March 2012): 282–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2011.11.006.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Steven R. Meshnick, William Worodria, Alfred Andama, J Lucian Davis, Adithya Cattamanchi, Saskia den Boon, et al. “Low prevalence of Pneumocystis jirovecii lung colonization in Ugandan HIV-infected patients hospitalized with non-Pneumocystis pneumonia.” Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 72, no. 2 (February 2012): 139–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2011.10.009.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Anna Maria van Eijk, Carla C. Hand, Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, Jane P. Messina, Antoinette K. Tshefu, Benjamin Atua, et al. “Quantification of the burden and consequences of pregnancy-associated malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” J Infect Dis 204, no. 11 (December 1, 2011): 1762–71. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir625.
  • Messina, Jane P., Steve M. Taylor, Steven R. Meshnick, Andrew M. Linke, Antoinette K. Tshefu, Benjamin Atua, Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, and Michael Emch. “Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Malar J 10 (June 9, 2011): 161. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-161.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Jane P. Messina, Carla C. Hand, Jonathan J. Juliano, Jeremie Muwonga, Antoinette K. Tshefu, Benjamin Atua, Michael Emch, and Steven R. Meshnick. “Molecular malaria epidemiology: mapping and burden estimates for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2007.” PLoS One 6, no. 1 (January 31, 2011): e16420. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016420.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Malcolm E. Molyneux, David L. Simel, Steven R. Meshnick, and Jonathan J. Juliano. “Does this patient have malaria?” JAMA 304, no. 18 (November 10, 2010): 2048–56. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.1578.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Jonathan J. Juliano, Paul A. Trottman, Jennifer B. Griffin, Sarah H. Landis, Paluku Kitsa, Antoinette K. Tshefu, and Steven R. Meshnick. “High-throughput pooling and real-time PCR-based strategy for malaria detection.” J Clin Microbiol 48, no. 2 (February 2010): 512–19. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01800-09.
  • Taylor, Steve M., Jonathan J. Juliano, and Steven R. Meshnick. “Artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria.” N Engl J Med 361, no. 18 (October 29, 2009): 1807. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc091737.
  • Juliano, Jonathan J., Steve M. Taylor, and Steven R. Meshnick. “Polymerase chain reaction adjustment in antimalarial trials: molecular malarkey?” J Infect Dis 200, no. 1 (July 1, 2009): 5–7. https://doi.org/10.1086/599379.