Yale’s Jacquelyn Taylor receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
When President Barack Obama announced the names of the researchers who have been awarded the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) this week, Yale School of Nursing’s Jacquelyn Taylor was on the list.
For science and engineering professionals, PECASE represents the highest honor bestowed on behalf of the U.S. government.
“I congratulate these outstanding scientists and engineers on their impactful work,” Obama said in a statement announcing the awards. “These innovators are working to help keep the United States on the cutting edge, showing that federal investments in science lead to advancements that expand our knowledge of the world around us and contribute to our economy.”
Recipients are chosen “for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.”
Taylor is principal investigator on a five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research, titled, “Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure.” In addition to this, Taylor is being recognized for her complete body of work on gene-environment interactions on blood pressure among minority populations, the community service she has provided to underserved communities, and her work’s alignment with national goals and priorities for science.
“Clinical translational research is what nursing science is all about. We always think about how it helps the patient, not just in molecular terms, but in terms of how this can be helpful to patient care and how this work can improve healthcare outcomes. If you’ve ever been a patient, you can appreciate the work that nurses and nurse scientists do,” said Taylor, who is associate professor of nursing and associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Yale School of Nursing. “It is truly humbling to be nominated by NINR and selected by President Obama for this most prestigious award.”
Taylor is only the third nurse scientist to receive the award in its history, but she is not the first in the Taylor home. Her husband, André Taylor, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering, was a 2010 recipient of the PECASE award. They are the only husband-and-wife team to have been granted this prestigious award.
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