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

Research image of astrocytes in a mouse brain.

Alzheimer’s disease and autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 12 January.

By Jill Adams
13 January 2026 | 2 min read
A network of connected dots of light hovers inside a translucent human head, with figures in lab coats pointing to it from the foreground.

Computational psychiatry needs systems neuroscience

Dissecting different parallel processing streams may help us understand the mechanisms underlying psychiatric symptoms, such as delusions, and unite human and animal research.

By Michael Halassa
13 January 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of ants marching back to an anthill.

This paper changed my life: John Tuthill reflects on the subjectivity of selfhood

Wittlinger, Wehner and Wolf’s 2006 “stilts and stumps” Science paper revealed how ants pull off extraordinary feats of navigation using a biological odometer, and it inspired Tuthill to consider how other insects sense their own bodies.

By John Tuthill
12 January 2026 | 7 min read

privacy consent banner

Privacy Preference

We use cookies to provide you with the best online experience. By clicking “Accept All,” you help us understand how our site is used and enhance its performance. You can change your choice at any time. To learn more, please visit our Privacy Policy.