Holly A. Taylor

Holly Ann Taylor is an American cognitive psychologist. She is the Moses Hunt Professor of Psychology at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, where she has been a faculty member since 1994. Taylor's research focuses on mental models, spatial cognition, and how nutritional factors affect cognition. She was also a co-director of the Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, a collaboration between Tufts and the U.S. Army.

Education Taylor received a B.A. in mathematics and statistics with a minor in psychology from Dartmouth College in 1987. She earned a Ph.D. in cognitive and experimental psychology from Stanford University in 1992.

Career Taylor joined the faculty at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences in 1994 as an assistant professor in the psychology department, holding this position from June 1994 to August 1999. The study monitored 19 women and found that after one week of severe carbohydrate restriction, participants showed a gradual decline in performance on memory-related tasks and had slower reaction times compared to those on a low-fat diet.

Taylor served as a co-director of the Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, which officially opened on October 18, 2016. Her co-director was Caroline R. Mahoney, who had previously co-authored the 2010 dehydration study with Taylor. The center was a joint foundation between Tufts University's School of Engineering and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center. As part of this collaboration, Taylor's work included developing wearable devices to help people improve their orientation and navigation skills, citing an over-reliance on GPS devices.