Breast Surgeon
2005, Doctor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York
2000, Post Baccalaureate Premedical Program, Columbia University, Manhattan, New York
1998, Bachelor of Arts with Honors in History, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
2010-2011, Postdoctoral Fellow in Breast Surgical Oncology, Columbia University, New York, New York
2005-2010, Intern and Resident in General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
2018-present, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Breast Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2014-2017, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2011-2014, Breast Cancer Surgeon, Pink Lotus Breast Center, Beverly Hills, CA
2010-2014, Co-director and Collaborator, “Initiative to Enhance Cancer Care in Ethiopia†(Grant), Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Roche African Research Foundation
Lesley Taylor, M.D. is a breast surgical oncologist at City of Hope who has had the privilege to work on various global health initiatives to improve breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Ethiopia for 12 years.
Her interest in global breast oncology began during surgical training when she received funding from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2009 for a project to deliver breast care in a remote village in Ecuador. Dr. Taylor was then recruited to work on building capacity for breast oncology in Ethiopia, serving as co-director and key collaborator of an award from the Roche African Research Foundation titled, “Initiative to Enhance Cancer Care in Ethiopia, the Einstein-Ethiopian Collaboration.â€Â
Dr. Taylor has conducted research, organized the Ethiopian National Oncology conferences and designed and implemented a pilot program for one of the country’s first de-centralized centers for breast cancer patients in Hawassa, Ethiopia from 2013 to 2016. For 12 years, Dr. Taylor has mentored medical students, business students, surgical fellows and 17 Ethiopian graduate students in breast cancer research in Ethiopia. She was co-program director for the Susan G. Komen Graduate Training Program in Disparities Research for Ethiopian students.Â
She collaborated with ASCO to design the “Cancer Control for Primary Care†course for the medical school in Gondar and the nursing school in Hawassa, Ethiopia. She is currently faculty on two German awards to build oncology capacity and train Ethiopian Ph.D. candidates in Epidemiology. For the last two years, Dr. Taylor has developed a mentorship program to support the research of 5-6 nursing graduate students with their Master’s thesis, focusing on oncology research.Â
Dr. Taylor collaborates with faculty from COH and Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Referral Hospital (HUCSRH) to develop oncology research capacity, patient advocacy, and pathology services in a program called the COH-Ethiopia Breast Cancer Initiative. Dr. Taylor collaborates with faculty to develop a train-the-trainer nursing education program called "Comprehensive Oncology Nurse Training" for providers in Africa. Dr. Taylor developed a film with faculty titled, "Breast Examination Instruction: Teaching Providers How to Perform a Clinical Breast Exam" which has been viewed by over Nigerian midwives and primary care providers in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Dr. Taylor has partnered with pathologists from Africa and COH to create a comprehensive training program "Pathology Training Project in Africa" with over 100 participants from nine sub-Saharan African countries. Dr. Taylor and pathologists from Ethiopia and COH received an award from the College of American Pathologists in 2023, “Improving Breast Cancer Treatment Through Surgical-Pathology Education in Africa." Dr. Taylor currently serves as a Technical Consultant on the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative Working Group 3, "Breast Cancer Treatment and Supportive Care." Dr. Taylor's work with COH teams has been recognized by the Biden Administration as aligning with Cancer Moonshot Priorities.
Download this pdf to learn more about Dr. Taylor's research in Ethiopia