Kevin Talbot qualified in Medicine from Imperial College in London in 1990 and trained as a clinical neurologist in London and Oxford. As an MRC Clinical Training Fellow, he gained a DPhil in the Department of Biochemistry in Oxford working on the molecular genetics of Spinal Muscular Atrophy under the supervision of Professor Kay Davies. Subsequently he became Clinical Lecturer in Clinical Neurology. He joined the Anatomy Department in 2001 and established a group studying the molecular basis of motor neuron degeneration. He is a Consultant Neurologist in the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust, Honorary Consultant Neurologist and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Clinical Neurology  and Director of the Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Care and Research Centre. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

His research interests focus on the molecular basis of motor neuron survival. Patients with mutations in a number of different genes can suffer from progressive motor neuron degeneration leading to weakness and wasting of voluntary muscle. Using primary neuronal cell culture systems his group has explored the effect of mutant small heat shock protein on axonal function. Mutations in the gene for glycyl tRNA synthetase lead to another form of lower motor neuron degeneration. He is using a combination of structural, biochemical and cellular studies to understand why mutations in a ‘house-keeping’ gene expressed in all cells lead to specific neuronal degeneration. The aim of this work is to identify targets for drug therapy in neurodegenerative diseases which are currently untreatable.

Further information can be found at Talbot Research