Mississippi State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers is retiring from the Mississippi State Department of Health on June 30, the agency announced.

Byers has served MSDH in various roles for over 30 years. He became the State epidemiologist in 2016 and led the state through the COVID-19 pandemic alongside former State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who retired last year.

“Dr. Byers will be hugely missed—not only for his institutional knowledge and expertise, but also for his constant professionalism and patience,” State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said in a June 2 press release. “He has an unparalleled ability to explain complicated issues with clarity and simplicity. That has been a huge asset in working with the public and our public health partners.”

Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Taylor, a Jackson, Miss., native, will become the interim state epidemiologist on July 1. Before MSDH named her as deputy state epidemiologist in 2019, she worked at MSDH as a District V health officer and medical consultant for the Office of Communicable Diseases.

Mississippi Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Taylor
Mississippi Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Taylor is stepping in as the interim state epidemiologist on July 1, 2023, following State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers’ retirement. Photo courtesy MSDH

Taylor is a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“Dr. Taylor has worked in tandem with me for the past several years investigating outbreaks and

responding to a variety of public health emergencies, most notably COVID,” said Byers in the press release. “Her knowledge and passion for the field of epidemiology is a benefit to the State of Mississippi.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story referenced the Mississippi Department of Human Services; it should have said the Mississippi State Department of Health. We apologize for the error.

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State Reporter Heather Harrison has won more than a dozen awards for her multi-media journalism work. At Mississippi State University, she studied public relations and broadcast journalism, earning her Communication degree in 2023. For three years, Heather worked at The Reflector student newspaper: first as a staff reporter, then as the news editor and finally, as the editor-in-chief. This is where her passion for politics and government reporting began.
Heather started working at the Mississippi Free Press three days after graduation in 2023. She also worked part time for Starkville Daily News after college covering the Board of Aldermen meetings.
In her free time, Heather likes to sit on the porch, read books and listen to Taylor Swift. A native of Hazlehurst, she now lives in Brandon with her wife and their Boston Terrier, Finley, and calico cat, Ravioli.

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