Rate My Professor Nathan Whelan

Whelan's research focuses on conservation genetics, systematics, taxonomy, population genetics, phylogenetics, and comparative biology, particularly of freshwater mollusks such as Pleuroceridae and Unionidae, black bass genetic management, and environmental DNA for detecting invasive and rare species. He has secured over $8 million in grants, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cooperative agreements totaling millions for invasive species early detection, fish disease diagnostics, and conservation genomics of species like the Brook Floater and Frosted Flatwoods Salamander. Key publications include 'Population genomics reveals how Pleuroceridae species respond to habitat degradation' (American Malacological Bulletin, 2024), 'Hidden in the hills: phylogeny of the freshwater mussel genus Alasmidonta and description of a new species' (Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023), 'Available data do not rule out Ctenophora as the sister group to all other Metazoa' (Nature Communications, 2023), and 'Ctenophore relationships and placement within the Metazoa' (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017). Awards include Auburn University's Dean’s Grantsmanship Award (2025), Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Science Achievement Award (2020), London Malacological Society Annual Award for Outstanding Initial Contribution to Malacology (2014), and selection for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Advanced Leadership Development Program (2022). Whelan has led teams of scientists, research fellows, and graduate students, advising master's and Ph.D. candidates on projects in conservation genomics and systematics.