Taussig had Tuberculosis for several years, and struggled with severe dyslexia.

She completed 2yrs at Radcliff and then earned her bachelors degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1921.

She studied histology, bacteriology, and anatomy at Harvard medical school and Boston University but wasn't allowed to earn her degree.

In her histology class she wasn't allowed to speak to male classmates for fear of "contamination."