Dr. Nnamdi Nelson ’12
Emeryville, Calif.

Driven by the desire to help people in need, Nnamdi Nelson began his academic journey as a pre-med major. He spent the summer of his junior year at Wartburg West working as a research assistant at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. It was during this period that Nelson discovered his passion for biomedical research.

After graduating magna cum laude in 2012 with a major in biology, Nelson worked at Integrated DNA Technologies synthesizing reagents used for genomic research. He was quickly drawn to biomedical research at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he worked on projects designed to understand the causes and treatments for a new form of eye disease.

Nelson’s strong commitment to serving others is noticeable by those around him. As a Wartburg student, he sang in the Chapel Choir, worked as a supplemental instructor, volunteered at the Waverly Health Center, and participated in service trips. He was also active in several clubs on campus, including the International Club.

To expand his intellectual horizons, Nelson earned his doctorate in neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the university, Nelson served as an instructor and micro-teaching facilitator, leading training sessions and evaluations of teaching assistants. Importantly, his work as a science outreach leader for the Education Justice Project brought science classes to incarcerated teenagers at the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center.

Nelson was a technology analyst at the University of California San Francisco Innovation Ventures office, where he helped develop successful commercialization strategies for therapeutics and medical devices developed at UCSF. He also serves on the leadership team of Biotech Connection – Bay Area, or BCBA, a nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the next generation of biotech leaders. As the vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Nelson leads effort to improve the diversity of trainees and clients that work with BCBA.

Nelson recently joined Northwestern University’s Innovation and New Ventures Office. He manages a portfolio of cutting-edge life science technologies developed by students and researchers and works to expedite the development of the technologies into useful products that benefit society. Nelson proudly supports numerous programs aimed to increase the number of women and minority inventors and entrepreneurs at Northwestern University.