Edith M. Taylor

Edith M. Taylor (1899-1993) was a Canadian biochemist known primarily for her work in producing novel techniques in vaccine production, especially her work on the production of diphtheria toxoid, while employed as a researcher by Connaught Laboratories in Toronto, Canada.

Early life and education Taylor was born in 1899 in Toronto to a family of 10 children. She attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a PhD in Chemistry in 1924. One of her first projects at Connaught involved major contributions to the culturing process of diphtheria toxoid, a non-toxic form of diphtheria toxin safe for vaccination. Connaught had been producing tetanus toxoid since 1927 and, though their product was effective, it also produced unwanted side effects. The toxin cultures produced through Taylor's method were more potent than those produced using commercially available broths. Taylor also contributed to the development of a stabilized version of the Schick toxin made using borate-gelatin-saline. This stabilized toxin did not need to be diluted as heavily as the destabilized variant, allowing a more effective administration of the toxin during Schick diphtheria tests. Taylor and Farrell published a paper in the Canadian Journal of Public Health suggesting that constant agitation of the samples and the introduction of a small amount of formalin could promote continuous growth of the samples and reduce clumping, respectively. Taylor also conducted a study examining the effectiveness of variants on the pertussis vaccine. She compared a concentrated, a heated, and a control version of the vaccine using several tests. The patent was granted to the University of Toronto in 1952.

Taylor also contributed to Connaught Laboratories research on the polio vaccine. In 1957, she developed a variant of the Nash colorimetric method for determining an estimation of the formaldehyde content in Polio vaccines.

Taylor was awarded the title of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1946 for her development of a mass-produced tetanus vaccine After many more years of work at the through Connaught Laboratories at the University of Toronto, she retired in 1962.