Rate My Professor Phil Taylor

Philip Taylor, Professor of Translational Immunology in the Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine at Cardiff University, is a leading expert in innate immunity. He obtained his BSc in Human Genetics from University College London in 1994 and PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College London in 1998. Taylor's postdoctoral training included positions at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College (1997-1999), and the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford (1999-2007), supported by Wellcome Trust fellowships. He joined Cardiff University in 2006 as a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow, advanced to MRC Senior Research Fellowship/Reader (2007-2012), and was appointed Professor of Translational Immunology in 2012, Wellcome Trust Investigator in 2016, and UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) Professor in 2017. He leads the Myeloid Cell Biology Group, serves as PGR Lead for the Systems Immunity Research Institute, and holds positions on committees such as the GW4 MRC Doctoral Training Partnership Management Board, MRC Strategy Group, and School of Medicine Research Degrees Committee.

His research elucidates the biology of macrophages and other myeloid cells, focusing on pathogen recognition receptors, inflammation, complement system, cellular origins, development, renewal, and transcriptional regulation. Recent efforts investigate microglia function in Alzheimer's disease, leveraging rare coding variants identified in genome-wide studies, as part of UK DRI at Cardiff where he is a Group Leader. Notable publications include: "Dectin-1 is required for β-glucan recognition and control of fungal infection" (Nature Immunology, 2007, with P.R. Taylor et al.); "The transcription factor Gata6 links tissue macrophage phenotype and proliferative renewal" (Science, 2014, with M. Rosas et al.); "Distinct bone marrow-derived and tissue-resident macrophage lineages proliferate at key stages during inflammation" (Nature Communications, 2013); "Tissue-resident macrophages" (Nature Immunology, 2013 review); and recent works like "Terminal complement pathway activation drives synaptic loss in Alzheimer’s disease models" (Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 2022). Taylor has received prestigious funding including the MRC PhD studentship, multiple Wellcome Trust awards, and MRC Senior Fellowship. His contributions advance therapeutic manipulation of macrophage activity and promote 3Rs principles in research.