Nick Talbot

Talbot was educated at Midhurst Grammar School. He went on to study at the University of Wales, Swansea for a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology graduating in 1986. Following his undergraduate degree, he trained at the University of East Anglia (UEA) where he was awarded a PhD in 1990 for genetic and genomic analysis of the leaf mould Cladosporuim fulvum.{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Nicholas José|last=Talbot |title=Genetic and genomic analysis of Cladosporuim fulvum (syn. Fulvia fulva) |publisher=University of East Anglia |year=1990 |url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.253614|authorlink=Nick Talbot}}{{cite web|title=Professor Nick Talbot FRS FSB|url=https://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=nick_talbot|publisher=University of Exeter|access-date=2014-09-23}}

After postdoctoral research at Purdue University from 1990 to 1993,{{Cite journal

| pmid = 16348876

| pmc = 202148

| year = 1993

| last1 = Talbot

| first1 = N. J.

| title = Karyotypic Variation within Clonal Lineages of the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe grisea

| journal = Applied and Environmental Microbiology

| volume = 59

| issue = 2

| pages = 585–93

| last2 = Salch

| first2 = Y. P.

| last3 = Ma

| first3 = M

| last4 = Hamer

| first4 = J. E.

| doi = 10.1128/AEM.59.2.585-593.1993

| bibcode = 1993ApEnM..59..585T

}} Talbot was appointed a Lecturer at the University of Exeter in 1993, and has been Professor of Molecular Genetics since 1999. He was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer in 2010. In 2018 Talbot joined The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich as Group Leader and Executive Director.

Talbot's research investigates plant pathology and developmental biology, especially the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea,{{Cite journal | pmid = 15846337| year = 2005| last1 = Dean| first1 = R. A.| title = The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea| journal = Nature| volume = 434| issue = 7036| pages = 980–6| last2 = Talbot| first2 = N. J.| authorlink2 = Nick Talbot| last3 = Ebbole| first3 = D. J.| last4 = Farman| first4 = M. L.| last5 = Mitchell| first5 = T. K.| last6 = Orbach| first6 = M. J.| last7 = Thon| first7 = M| last8 = Kulkarni| first8 = R| last9 = Xu| first9 = J. R.| last10 = Pan| first10 = H| last11 = Read| first11 = N. D.| last12 = Lee| first12 = Y. H.| last13 = Carbone| first13 = I| last14 = Brown| first14 = D| last15 = Oh| first15 = Y. Y.| last16 = Donofrio| first16 = N| last17 = Jeong| first17 = J. S.| last18 = Soanes| first18 = D. M.| last19 = Djonovic| first19 = S| last20 = Kolomiets| first20 = E| last21 = Rehmeyer| first21 = C| last22 = Li| first22 = W| last23 = Harding| first23 = M| last24 = Kim| first24 = S| last25 = Lebrun| first25 = M. H.| last26 = Bohnert| first26 = H| last27 = Coughlan| first27 = S| last28 = Butler| first28 = J| last29 = Calvo| first29 = S| last30 = Ma| first30 = L. J.| display-authors = 29| doi = 10.1038/nature03449| bibcode = 2005Natur.434..980D| doi-access = free}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1146/annurev.micro.57.030502.090957| pmid = 14527276| title = On the trail of a cereal killer: Exploring the Biology of Magnaporthe grisea| journal = Annual Review of Microbiology| volume = 57| pages = 177–202| year = 2003| last1 = Talbot | first1 = N. J. | authorlink1 = Nick Talbot}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1126/science.1124550| pmid = 16645096| title = Autophagic Fungal Cell Death is Necessary for Infection by the Rice Blast Fungus| journal = Science| volume = 312| issue = 5773| pages = 580–3| year = 2006| last1 = Veneault-Fourrey | first1 = C.| last2 = Barooah| first2 = M| last3 = Egan| first3 = M| last4 = Wakley| first4 = G| last5 = Talbot| first5 = N. J.| bibcode = 2006Sci...312..580V| s2cid = 11323211}}{{Cite journal

| doi = 10.1105/tpc.5.11.1575

| title = Identification and Characterization of MPG1, a Gene Involved in Pathogenicity from the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe grisea

| journal = The Plant Cell

| volume = 5

| issue = 11

| pages = 1575–90

| year = 1993

| last1 = Talbot | first1 = N. J.

| pmid=8312740

| pmc = 160387

}}{{Cite journal

| pmid = 11006342

| pmc = 149080

| year = 2000

| last1 = Thines

| first1 = E

| title = MAP kinase and protein kinase A-dependent mobilization of triacylglycerol and glycogen during appressorium turgor generation by Magnaporthe grisea

| journal = The Plant Cell

| volume = 12

| issue = 9

| pages = 1703–18

| last2 = Weber

| first2 = R. W.

| last3 = Talbot

| first3 = N. J.

| doi=10.2307/3871184

| jstor = 3871184

}} one of the world's most devastating diseases. Talbot is the editor of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Filamentous Fungi{{cite book | last = Talbot | first = Nick | title = Molecular and cellular biology of filamentous fungi: a practical approach | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford New York | year = 2001 | isbn = 0199638373 }} and Plant-Pathogen Interactions.{{cite book | last = Talbot | first = Nick | title = Plant-pathogen interactions | publisher = Blackwell Pub | location = Oxford | year = 2004 | isbn = 9781405147934 }}

Talbot's research has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).{{cite web|url=http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/97B74465-8297-440F-9143-FAB7567CACFF|title=UK Government research grants awarded to Nicholas Talbot]|website=rcuk.ac.uk|publisher=Research Councils UK|access-date=24 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110032/http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/97B74465-8297-440F-9143-FAB7567CACFF|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} Talbot has twice been awarded prestigious [https://erc.europa.eu/homepage European Research Council (ERC)] Advanced Grants in 2013{{Cite web |title=Datahub of ERC funded projects |url=https://erc.easme-web.eu/?p=294702 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=erc.easme-web.eu}} and 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-29 |title=Exciting research on plant infections awarded a multi-million euro grant |url=https://www.norwichresearchpark.com/exciting-research-on-plant-infections-awarded-a-multi-million-euro-grant |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Norwich Research Park |language=en-GB}} His current ERC grant supports the SEPBLAST project which will build on his research group's recent discoveries on fungal morphogenetic proteins, called septins, being essential for the rice blast pathogen to cause disease.{{Cite web |title=Exciting research on plant infections awarded a multi-million euro… |url=https://www.tsl.ac.uk/news/exciting-research-on-plant-infections-awarded-a-multi-million-euro-grant |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=The Sainsbury Laboratory |date=27 April 2022 |language=en}}

Talbot was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) in 2010, a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2013, and a Member of Academia Europaea (MAE) in 2014{{Cite web |title=Academy of Europe: Talbot Nicholas |url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Talbot_Nicholas |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=www.ae-info.org}}. He was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014. His nomination reads: {{centred pull quote|Nicholas Talbot is distinguished for his discoveries contributing to our knowledge of how fungi cause disease in plants. He has elucidated the molecular processes of cell differentiation and autophagic cell death in fungi causing diseases such as rice blast. He has shown how these processes are intimately involved in virulence and pathogenicity and are orchestrated to enable the complex cellular processes that enable a filamentous fungus to invade healthy plants. His work is characterised by a combination of molecular, genetic, genomic and cell biological approaches.{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/fellowship/2014/nicholas-talbot/ |title=Professor Nicholas Talbot FRS |publisher=royalsociety.org |archive-date=2014-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924043127/https://royalsociety.org/people/fellowship/2014/nicholas-talbot/ |location=London |author=Anon |year=2014 |url-status=dead }}}}

In 2025, Talbot was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS){{Cite journal |date=2025-03-28 |title=AAAS names 2024 Fellows |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx6365 |journal=Science |volume=387 |issue=6741 |pages=1363–1366 |doi=10.1126/science.adx6365}}.

Talbot is married to Catherine Ann Walsh, with two sons and one daughter.

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alumni of Swansea University

Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia

Category:Academics of the University of Exeter

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society

Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology

Category:People educated at Midhurst Grammar School

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