About Me

Kaylon Bruner-Tran grew up in Grenada, Mississippi (USA). She attended Delta State University for her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Chemistry before earning her PhD in Reproductive Pathology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. After post-graduate studies at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she returned to Nashville and joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

At Vanderbilt, Dr. Bruner-Tran’s laboratory was a component of the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her laboratory remains known for developing experimental models for the study of endometriosis and for examining the generational effects of environmental toxicant exposure. A major focus of her studies was to understand how such exposures lead to the development of reproductive disease and dysfunction across generations. Much of her research focused on the effects of dioxin, the chemical contaminant of Agent Orange that has been linked to numerous adverse health effects in veterans, their children, and the population of Vietnam. Using a mouse model, Dr. Bruner-Tran’s laboratory was the first to demonstrate dioxin exposure of the father increases the risk of preterm birth in his pregnant partner.

In addition to her research studies, for more than twenty years, Dr. Bruner-Tran also served as the primary writer of scientific documents emanating from the Center. Although she has now retired from bench research, she maintains an adjunct faculty appointment at Vanderbilt and has launched a second career as a freelance medical writer. Reflecting her passion for writing, in her spare time, she still loves to write. At present, she has published five novels and has begun work on a sixth.