Hugh S. Taylor, MD

Hugh S. Taylor, MD, chair of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, is internationally known for his studies on endometriosis. He combines the latest medical therapies with surgeries when needed to provide optimal care for women with pain or infertility related to endometriosis, a common, painful condition in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus.

“It’s a fascinating, but troubling disease. We don’t know what causes the lining of the uterus to grow outside it, but we’re doing research to find out why,” Dr. Taylor says. “Women can go 10 years before they are diagnosed, and we are doing a lot to speed that up.”

Another specialized condition for which Dr. Taylor receives referrals from around the country is for women with a very thin endometrium, which makes embryo implantation difficult. “These women aren’t getting pregnant, and we think the problem is not the eggs or the embryo, but that the uterus isn’t receptive to those embryos,” explains Dr. Taylor.

Complicated medical problems and the opportunity to truly help patients drew Dr. Taylor to obstetrics and gynecology. “There are so many unsolved problems that affect people from birth through the rest of their life. If you can make an impact during pregnancy or around the time of birth, you can change the whole trajectory of someone’s life,” he says. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to make such a difference.”

Dr. Taylor has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the nation’s highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. He is an active researcher and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health continuously for more than 20 years. A professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; and of molecular, cellular and development biology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Taylor is also chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital.