Taylor Heald-Sargent

Ms. Taylor Heald-Sargent is an MD/PhD candidate at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.  She received a BA in Biological Sciences from Smith College in 2006.  As an undergraduate, she was selected to participate in the Student Research in Departments (STRIDE) program beginning in her freshman year.  During her senior year, she was inducted into Sigma Xi.  Beginning during the summer following her sophomore year, spent at Mount Sinai’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program, she pursued her interest in infectious disease.  Specifically, she researched topical microbicides for Herpes Simplex Virus, T-cell suppression in pediatric Human Immunodeficiency Virus patients, and entry cofactors for Human Coronaviruses.  Currently, she is completing her PhD investigating the role of respiratory proteases during Coronavirus infection.  She is also interested in international medicine and participated in Loyola’s International Service Immersion trip to the Dominican Republic during the summer between her first and second year of medical school.  Taylor has served APSA as Loyola's Institutional Representative since 2008.  She is now President of her local chapter and Chair of the Annual Meeting Committee.