Nick Talbot

Supernumerary Fellow in Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor of Cardiorespiratory Physiology, Consultant in Respiratory Medicine

Teaching
At Univ I am the co-ordinating tutor in Pre-clinical Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. I teach cellular and integrative physiology for first- and second-year students, covering a broad range of topics including cardiovascular, respiratory and renal physiology. I teach more advanced aspects of cardiorespiratory physiology and pathophysiology for third year Univ students. My research is also focused in this area and I am an active NHS clinician, working as a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine in Oxford. In tutorials, we often discuss basic physiology in a clinical context, with a focus on research methodology.

At a departmental level, I deliver lectures on basic and applied respiratory physiology for first- and second-year Medicine and Biomedical Sciences students, and coordinate practical classes in various aspects of human physiology. I also lead the Respiratory Medicine module for first-years on the Graduate Entry Medicine course, and lead the third-year FHS option in Human Applied Physiology, which includes lectures and tutorial teaching in extreme environmental physiology, exercise physiology, and clinical cardiorespiratory physiology. In the laboratory, I supervise FHS students undertaking research projects, and graduate students undertaking masters and doctoral projects.

Research
My research activities are based in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics. The focus is on translational physiology, with projects spanning from basic laboratory science to interventional clinical research studies. In particular, I have been interested in the extent to which human respiratory and pulmonary vascular responses to hypoxia are coordinated by the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) oxygen sensing pathway, and the effects of pharmacological manipulation of this pathway, for example through alterations in systemic iron availability. This work has included field research at high altitude, laboratory studies in Oxford, and clinical studies in the hospital setting.

Another focus for our research is the development of new technologies for non-invasive assessment of cardiorespiratory function. In collaboration with Prof Peter Robbins (DPAG), Prof Grant Ritchie (Department of Chemistry) and Prof Nayia Petousi (Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine), we have for example recently demonstrated that a novel approach based on highly-precise respiratory gas analysis and mathematical modelling can identify abnormal lung physiology with greater sensitivity than existing methods. We are exploring the clinical utility of this method, in studies funded by Asthma + Lung UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

I am also involved in a number of multi-centre clinical studies as a local Principal Investigator, including in bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis, in which I have a clinical sub-speciality interest.

Selected publications
Alamoudi A, Sandhu D, Bithell TDE, Smith NMJ, Richmond G, Petralia LS, Magor-Elliott S, Xu H, Talbot NP, Ritchie GAD, Petousi N, Robbins PA. Computed cardiopulmonography: Effects of physical characteristics on lung parameter estimates. Exp Physiol. 2026 Jan;111(1):300-313. doi: 10.1113/EP092423.

Talbot NP, Downs M, Cane J, Yen S, Mohammad G, Gates A, Snowball J, Laskawiec-Szkonter M, Dobson M, Lakhal-Littleton S, Johnson JS, Rahman NM, Gerry S, Chapman SJ, Flight WG. Intravenous iron for the treatment of iron deficiency in adults with cystic fibrosis: a prospective observational cohort study. Eur Respir J. 2025 Nov 6;66(5):2500838. doi: 10.1183/13993003.00838-2025.

Bradley JM, O’Neill B, McAuley DF, Chalmers JD, De Soyza A, Hill AT, Carroll M, Loebinger MR, Duckers J, Clarke M, McLeese RH, Ferguson K, Jackson A, Campbell C, McDowell C, Agus A, Norrie J, Copeland F, Downey DG, Convery R, Kelly M, Flight W, Talbot NP, Hurst JR, Steer J, Anwar M, Shahidi M, Gatheral T, Etumi M, Sullivan AL, Ionescu AA, Patil V, Bhattacharya M, Caskey S, Cosgrove D, Hagan C, Shoemark A, McManus T, Davies G, Elborn JS; CLEAR Investigator Team. Hypertonic Saline or Carbocisteine in Bronchiectasis. N Engl J Med. 2025 Oct 23;393(16):1565-1577. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2510095.

Alamoudi A, Petralia L, Smith NMJ, Xu H, Sandhu D, Richmond G, Talbot NP, Ritchie GA, Pavord I, Robbins PA, Petousi N. Effects of biologic therapy on novel indices of lung inhomogeneity in patients with severe type-2 high asthma. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2025 Feb 8;12(1):e002721. doi: 10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002721.

Talbot NP, Cheng HY, Hanstock H, Smith TG, Dorrington KL, Robbins PA. Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction does not limit maximal exercise capacity in healthy volunteers breathing 12% oxygen at sea level. Physiol Rep. 2024 Feb;12(4):e15944. doi: 10.14814/phy2.15944.

Redmond JL, Kendall F, Smith NMJ, Magor-Elliott SRM, Hallifax RJ, Fullerton CJ, Richmond G, Couper JH, Ritchie GAD, Robbins PA, Petousi N, Talbot NP. Computed Cardiopulmonography for the Detection of Early Smoking-Related Changes in the Lungs of Young Individuals Who Smoke. Chest. 2024 May;165(5):1107-1110. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2024.02.006.

Smith NMJ, Magor-Elliott SRM, Fullerton CJ, Couper JH, Richmond G, Hancock G, Ritchie GAD, Robbins PA, Talbot NP, Petousi N. The Lognormal Lung: A new approach to quantifying lung inhomogeneity in COPD. Front Physiol. 2022 Oct 31;13:1032126. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1032126.

Santer P, McGahey A, Frise MC, Petousi N, Talbot NP, Baskerville R, Bafadhel M, Nickol AH, Robbins PA. Intravenous iron and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2020 Jun;7(1):e000577. doi: 10.1136/bmjresp-2020-000577.