Will Talbot

Professor of developmental biology
Stanford University

Will Talbot is professor of developmental biology at Stanford University. His research focuses on the development and function of glial cells in the vertebrate nervous system. He completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1993 at Stanford University. As a graduate student with David Hogness at Stanford, Talbot investigated the genetic control of metamorphosis in Drosophila. As a postdoctoral fellow working with Charles Kimmel and John Postlethwait at the University of Oregon, he conducted molecular studies of genes that regulate early development in the zebrafish. Talbot became assistant professor at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University Medical Center in 1996, and in 1999, he joined the faculty at Stanford. He has received a Pew Scholars Award, a Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award, and he was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 

Explore more from The Transmitter

Outside influences on CHD8 variant phenotypes, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 18 May.

By Jill Adams
19 May 2026 | 2 min read
stack of books illustration.

Reforming neuroscience graduate education for—and with—AI

In disrupting the status quo, artificial intelligence can help us critically reassess and redefine what neuroscience graduate training should look like—and potentially address long-standing training challenges in novel and innovative ways.

By Tari Tan
19 May 2026 | 7 min read
deciphering emotion illustration.

What can AI teach us about ‘emotions’?

Exploring why Anthropic’s AI, Claude, displays something like emotion could ultimately help us better understand the function that emotions serve in humans.

By Nicole Rust
18 May 2026 | 7 min read