Rate My Professor Merritt Delano-Taylor

Merritt DeLano-Taylor is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, joining the faculty in 2008. Prior to this appointment, he served as a postdoctoral fellow in Sean Morrison's laboratory at the University of Michigan, where he demonstrated that Rbpsuh, a transcriptional co-factor for the Notch signaling pathway, is necessary for normal neural stem cell differentiation into glia in vivo. This research integrated his doctoral expertise in protein chemistry, focusing on protein kinases and phosphoproteins. DeLano-Taylor earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan and holds a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in English from the University of Rochester. He has also served as interim chair of the Geology Department and as a member of the 2025-2026 Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.

His research specializes in neurodevelopment, genetics, and stem cell biology, investigating the mechanisms by which neural stem cells differentiate into specific cell types, particularly dopamine-producing neurons, during embryonic development. Using chicken and mouse models, DeLano-Taylor's lab examines intrinsic factors such as gene expression via the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Nato3 and extrinsic factors like polyunsaturated fatty acids. A primary focus is on phosphorylation-mimicking mutants of Nato3 (PM-Nato3) to drive dopaminergic neuron gene expression and protect neurons from parkinsonian conditions, holding promise for Parkinson's disease therapeutics. This work is conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan, Van Andel Research Institute, and Rush University, and has been funded by the NIH, NSF, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Campbell Foundation. Key outputs include a patent on Nato3 mutant polypeptides (US20180346530A1, awarded 2021). Selected publications are: Peterson et al., 'The Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Gene Nato3 Drives Expression of Dopaminergic Neuron Transcription Factors in Neural Progenitors' (Neuroscience, 2019); von Linstow et al., 'Does Developmental Variability in the Number of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons Affect Individual Risk for Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease?' (Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 2020); Taylor et al., 'Physiological Notch signaling promotes gliogenesis in the developing peripheral and central nervous systems' (Development, 2007); and Taylor & Uhler, 'The amino-terminal cyclic nucleotide binding site of the type II cGMP-dependent protein kinase is essential for full cyclic nucleotide dependent activation' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2000). DeLano-Taylor serves as Presidential Fellow for Advancing a Research Strategy (2023-2025), teaches courses including Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience, and Neuroscience of Parkinson’s Disease, and mentors undergraduate and master's students, 85% of whom advance to graduate or professional biomedical programs.