Rate My Professor Nels Elde

Nels C. Elde is Professor of Human Genetics in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He also holds an adjunct appointment as Professor in Biological Sciences. Elde earned his BA from Carleton College in 1995 and his PhD from the University of Chicago in 2005. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center from 2005 to 2011. He joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 2011, serving as Associate Professor in Human Genetics from 2017 to 2022 prior to his promotion to Professor. Additionally, he held an Associate Professor position in the School of Biological Sciences from 2015 to 2018.

As an evolutionary geneticist, Elde investigates host-pathogen interfaces and the evolutionary impact of these interactions on genomic and cellular complexity. His laboratory uses integrated phylogenetic and experimental approaches to identify genetic sources of resistance to infectious diseases, discover viruses in model organisms, and elucidate host adaptation to infections. Key findings include poxviruses deploying genomic accordions to rapidly adapt against host antiviral defenses, the role of endogenous retroviruses in regulatory evolution of innate immunity, protein kinase R's model for defeating viral mimicry, escape from bacterial iron piracy via transferrin evolution, and regulatory activities of transposable elements. Elde has published highly influential works such as 'Regulatory activities of transposable elements: from conflicts to benefits' in Nature Reviews Genetics (2017), 'Regulatory evolution of innate immunity through co-option of endogenous retroviruses' in Science (2016), 'Poxviruses deploy genomic accordions to adapt rapidly against host antiviral defenses' in Cell (2012), 'Escape from bacterial iron piracy through rapid evolution of transferrin' in Science (2014), and 'Protein kinase R reveals an evolutionary model for defeating viral mimicry' in Nature (2009). Recent publications include 'Hidden evolutionary constraints dictate the retention of coronavirus accessory genes' in Current Biology (2024) and 'Recurrent viral capture of cellular phosphodiesterases that antagonize OAS-RNase L' in PNAS (2024). Elde received the MacArthur Fellowship in 2020 and was appointed an HHMI Investigator in 2021. Since 2015, he has co-hosted the podcast This Week in Evolution.