Taylor Nakayama is a postdoctoral scholar in Tim Gardner's lab. Nakayama earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine in 2024 for her work on neuroplasticity in mouse cortex in the labs of Sunil Gandhi, Mathew Blurton-Jones, and Gyorgy Lur. Prior to her doctorate, she earned a B.S. in Genetics and Genomics at the University of California, Davis while working in JoAnne Engebrecht's lab and conducted post-bacc research at the University of California, San Francisco in Erik Ullian's lab. Nakayama's research interests lie in understanding plasticity mechanisms for neurotherapeutic purposes. In the Gardner lab, Nakayama's work will support the efforts of the Adelson Medical Research Foundation. Outside of lab, she enjoys climbing, skiing, and adventures with her dog.