Professor Talley since 2010 has held an appointment as Pro Vice‐Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medicine at the University of Newcastle. He is currently on a nine month sabbatical undertaking research at the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Australia. He has published over 800 original and review articles in the peer‐reviewed literature, and is considered one of the world's leading neurogastroenterologists with a H index of 107. He is a leading clinician and educator, as well as the author of the highly regarded textbooks Clinical Examination and Examination Medicine with Dr Simon O'Connor.

Professor Talley was formerly Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida where he held the rank of Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Mayo Clinic, and was the Foundation Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney, Nepean Hospital for nearly a decade.