Emily Nicholson

Professor Emily Nicholson is Professor in Conservation Biology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne. She earned her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2006, BA/BSc (Hons) from the University of Melbourne in 2002, and Graduate Certificate of Higher Education Learning and Teaching from Deakin University in 2016. Her career trajectory includes Research Associate at Princeton University (2006-2007), Marie Curie Fellow and Research Associate at Imperial College London (2007-2012), Centenary Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (2012-2015), and progression from Senior Lecturer to Professor in Conservation Science at Deakin University (2015-2023), including as ARC Future Fellow. She assumed her current professorship at the University of Melbourne in 2023.

Nicholson's research program develops quantitative theory and tools for enhanced conservation outcomes, emphasizing global conservation policy under the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity indicators and change assessment, ecosystem risk prediction via the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, and connections between biodiversity and human well-being. She has secured approximately $11.8 million in funding as lead or joint investigator, including ARC Future Fellowship (2020, $931,148), ARC Discovery Project on monitoring the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2025-2028, $663,709), and ARC Mid-career Industry Fellowship on biodiversity monitoring (2025-2029, $1,181,800). Major honors encompass the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Environmental Research (2015, team award for Red List of Ecosystems), Deakin Vice-Chancellor’s Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence (2018), Veski Inspiring Women Fellowship (2016), Centenary Research Fellowship (2012), and Marie Curie Fellowship (2008). Key publications include editorship of Decision-Making in Conservation and Natural Resource Management: Models for Interdisciplinary Approaches (Cambridge University Press, 2017); "A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems" (Nature, 2022); "Scientific foundations for an ecosystem goal, milestones and indicators for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework" (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2021); and "Scientific foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems" (PLoS ONE, 2013). She exerts field influence as co-lead of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Thematic Group, co-chair of the CBD Ad Hoc Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (2025-2026), member of CBD Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on indicators (2023-2025), and Handling Editor for Conservation Biology. Nicholson leads the Conservation Science group, supervises PhD students and postdocs, and has developed courses including a MOOC on ecosystem risk assessment.

Professional Email: emily.nicholson@unimelb.edu.au