Dr. Kishana Taylor is a virologist and advocate for minoritized groups in STEM. Dr. Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Delaware where she was named a Woman of Promise in addition to being an EPSCoR and Summer Institute Research Scholar. Dr. Taylor continued her education at The George Washington University earning a Master’s degree in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious where her work on the effects of concentrated poultry operation on the presence of antibiotic resistant E. Coli in Chesapeake Bay watersheds was supported by the Smithsonian Institute. Dr. Taylor went on to earn her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in Interdisciplinary Biomedical sciences in 2018. Her research focused on developing laboratory animal models of virus transmission for epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus. Dr. Taylor is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, Newark in the lab of Dr. Lily Khadempour. Her current research focuses on the ecology, evolution and epidemiology of endemic vector-borne viruses. Dr. Taylor’s research interest include arboviruses, zoonotic viruses and their epidemiology, ecology and evolution. Dr. Taylor also serves as a Councilor for Virology Trainees with the American Society for Virology and has served in several other leadership positions during her time in higher education.