[2] For her dissertation, she studied The influence of definite photoperiods upon the growth and development of initiated floral primordia.

After serving in the Army Red Cross in New Guinea during World War II, she joined the Botany Department at Howard University in 1945.

[2] She succeeded Charles Stewart Parker as Chair of the Botany Department in 1947 at Howard University, a position she held until her retirement in 1976.

[2][5] During her tenure, the department expanded, and Taylor was involved in the design and construction of a new biology building on the Howard University campus.

During the mid-1960s, she was requested by President Lyndon B. Johnson to expand her work overseas, bringing her teaching style to an international level.