Research Scientist
Negaunee Integrative Research Center
Matt's research began in botany, ecology and environmental science and has more recently gravitated towards: (i) the evolution of symbiotic associations; and (ii) the evolution of eukaryotic microbes (fungi and algae), and the roles they have played in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and nutrient-cycling during the Neoproterozoic-Phanerozoic. Both avenues of his research attempt to link diverse fields and organismal groups. His current postdoctoral work addresses the timing and evolutionary consequences of ant-plant interactions. For more information, please see: [https://mpnelsen.com/](https://mpnelsen.com/)
Education and Work
**Ph.D.** University of Chicago. Committee on Evolutionary Biology. *Thesis*: The origins and diversification of lichen symbioses. **M.S.** University of Wisconin-Madison. Botany. *Thesis*: Symbiont-switching, species concepts and systematics in the lichen genera *Thamnolia* and *Lepraria*. **B.S.** University of Wisconsin-Madison. Double-major in Botany and Biological Aspects of Conservation. *Thesis*: Lichens as bioindicators of air quality in Madison, WI.
Accomplishments
**Selected publications **(for full list, please see: [https://mpnelsen.com/publications-2/](https://mpnelsen.com/publications-2/))**:** **Nelsen, M.P.**, Lücking, R., Boyce, C.K., Lumbsch, H.T. and R.H. Ree. 2020. The macroevolutionary dynamics of symbiotic and phenotypic diversification in lichens. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA* 117: 21495-21503. **Nelsen, M.P.**, Lücking, R., Boyce, C.K., Lumbsch, H.T. and R.H. Ree. 2020. No support for the emergence of lichens prior to the evolution of vascular plants. *Geobiology* 18: 3-13. **Nelsen, M.P.**, Ree, R. and C.S. Moreau. 2018. Ant-plant interactions evolved through increasing interdependence. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA* 115: 12253-12258. **Nelsen, M.P.**, DiMichele, W.A., Peters, S.E. and C.K. Boyce. 2016. Delayed fungal evolution did not cause the Paleozoic peak in coal production. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA* 113: 2442-2447.