Rate My Professor Nathan Whelan

Whelan's research interests encompass the evolution of biodiversity, phylogenomics, conservation genomics, and freshwater conservation, with a primary focus on freshwater mollusks such as Pleuroceridae, Semisulcospiridae, and Unionidae. Notable publications include 'A new endemic freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) genus and species, Ligodonta obscura' (ZooKeys, 2025, with Perkins et al.); 'Population genomics reveals how Pleuroceridae species respond to habitat degradation' (American Malacological Bulletin, 2025); 'Available data do not rule out Ctenophora as the sister group to all other Metazoa' (Nature Communications, 2023, with Halanych); and 'Error, signal, and the placement of Ctenophora sister to all other animals' (PNAS, 2015). He has received the Dean’s Grantsmanship Award from Auburn University (2025), Science Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Institution (2020), Annual Award for Outstanding Initial Contribution to Malacology from the London Malacological Society (2014), and Ralph L. Chermock Prize for Most Outstanding Graduate Student from the University of Alabama (2012). Whelan served as Faculty Senator for the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences from 2020 onward and mentored graduate students and postdocs. His work informs management priorities for non-marine molluscs and enhances conservation efforts for threatened aquatic species.