Robert Neal Taylor MD PhD

A brilliant and passionate scholar, visionary in science and reproductive medicine, a loving spouse, devoted father and grandfather, and colleague died unexpectedly on Monday, January 22, 2024 at the age of 71.

Rob was born in 1953 in Rochester, New York to Dorothy L. Brion (Warne) and Sidney Rowland Schweitzer. He grew up in Sacramento, California, spending time on Lake Tahoe where he perfected the art of skiing. He went to boarding school at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. He was called home early after the untimely death of his father and completed his preparatory education at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire.

Robert received his undergraduate education at Stanford University and completed the combined MD-PhD program at Baylor College of Medicine. His graduate work was on the molecular biology of estrogen action. Professor Taylor trained as a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology and subsequently as a fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology at UCSF. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UCSF, where he studied the regulation of angiogenesis by growth factors and their receptors in the placenta.

Robert Taylor is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist who is widely published in the areas of endometriosis, endometrial vascularization, embryonic implantation, preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications. His laboratory has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1987 and his team investigates the molecular and cell biology of the human uterus and placenta, with an emphasis on endocrine and paracrine regulation of chemokines, cytokines, and neuroangiogenic growth factors in endometriosis.

Professor Taylor has served as principal investigator on several clinical and translational grants and also on influential international, national, and state executive committees including the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NIH Reproductive Scientist Development Program and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He received the ASRM Distinguished Researcher Award in 2007 and shared the 2015 Harry Reich Award for pioneering work in the science and treatment of endometriosis from the Endometriosis Foundation of America with the late Ronald Batt MD.

Most recently, Dr. Taylor served as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Assistant Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, Director of MD PhD Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo. He was previously Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah, Wake Forest, and Emory Universities and Director of the Center for Reproductive Sciences at the University California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Dr. Taylor was a prolific physician-scientist. He published over 385 scientific papers, co-authored numerous book chapters and textbooks, and contributed to national and international medical societies for decades. Most recently, he co-edited Chesley’s Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy, 5th edition.

He was an exceptional colleague and mentor and exemplified the consummate clinician-scientist, emphasizing collaboration over competition. His legacy carries on in the hundreds of young physician-scientists he mentored over the years and his contributions to medical societies. He was most proud of his contributions to the Society of Reproductive Investigation, where he served as past president (2010-2011).

Despite being a quiet and contemplative soul, Rob’s infectious wit and humor rivaled that of the most extroverted, and he made life-long friends everywhere he went. He was a clever wordsmith and loved creative puns. An avid traveler, Rob was fluent in French having spent time on sabbatical as a visiting scientist at the Université de Paris XI. An exceptional chef, guitarist, skier, and cyclist, Rob knew how to live life to the fullest after surviving Hodgkin lymphoma twice. Most of all, he was genuine and humble, never boasting about his achievements, and brought out the best in those around him. He would most certainly disapprove of this attempt to capture his essence and incredible achievements in writing.

Robert is survived by his loving spouse and collaborator, Sarah L. Berga MD. He is also survived by his brother Scott Taylor (California), son Christopher Taylor (Sam Riley), son Patrick Taylor (Sarah Wintner), former spouse and mother of his children, Martha Miller Welch MD, many cousins in California and New York, as well as stepchildren Alexis Sherman-Roe MD (Allyson), and Nathaniel Sherman (Ellie) and their three children Ella Scott, Isla, and Walker. He is preceded in death by his mother Dorothy and his father Sidney.

A memorial service will be held in Buffalo, New York on February 3, 2024 at 11 am ET at the Saturn Club of Buffalo, 977 Delaware Ave. Buffalo.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dr. Robert N Taylor MD PhD may be made to the Society for Reproductive Investigation https://www.sri-online.org/donate/ or the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, https://ubfoundation.buffalo.edu/giving/index.php?gift_allocation=01-3-0-09522