Following his undergraduate studies at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN (1998), Dr. Nelson completed his doctoral studies in clinical psychology at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena, CA (2004). He completed predoctoral internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL (2004) and post-doctoral residency at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare/Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (2004-2006). He has worked as a clinical neuropsychologist in the Twin Cities area since 2006, including clinical positions at the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
After coming to St. Thomas full-time in 2011, he supervised graduate students in clinical neuropsychological evaluations through the University of St. Thomas Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services (IPC) and has continued to teach in the MA (Physiological Psychology, Psychopathology, Statistics) and Psy.D. (Advanced Psychopathology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Cognitive Assessment, Quantitative Methods) programs. He also provides neuropsychological consultation services through part-time independent practice.
Dr. Nelson is actively involved in neuropsychology and psychological assessment research. He retains interests in various areas, including cognitive and psychological outcomes following blast concussion and trauma exposure among combat Veterans, response validity assessment, and aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease. He was a member of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN) Board of Directors (2013-2021) and ABCN President (2019-2021). He also served as a member of the editorial board (2009-2016) and as the continuing education coordinator (2012-2021) for The Clinical Neuropsychologist, and continues to serve as a member of the editorial board for Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. He is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota and is certified in clinical neuropsychology (ABCN) by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).
Nelson, N. W., Hoelzle, J. B., McGuire, K. A., Ferrier-Auerbach, A. G., Charlesworth, M. J., & Sponheim, S. R. (2010). Evaluation context impacts neuropsychological performance of OEF/OIF veterans with reported combat-related concussion. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology,25, 713-723.
Nelson, N. W., Hoelzle, J. B., McGuire, K. A., Sim, A. H., Goldman, D. J., Ferrier-Auerbach, A.G., Charlesworth, M. J., Arbisi, P. A., & Sponheim, S. R. (2011). Self-report of psychological function among OEF/OIF personnel who also report combat-related concussion. The Clinical Neuropsychologist,25, 716-740.
Nelson, N. W., Hoelzle, J. B., Doane, B. M., McGuire, K. A., Ferrier-Auerbach, A. G., Charlesworth, M. J., Lamberty, G. J., Polusny, M. A., Arbisi, P. A., & Sponheim, S. R. (2012). Neuropsychological outcomes of U.S. veterans with report of remote blast concussion and current psychopathology. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,18,845-55.
Yu, F., Nelson, N. W., Savik, K., Wyman, J. F., Dysken, M., & Bronas, U. G. (2013). Affecting cognition and quality of life via aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease. Western Journal of Nursing Research,35,24-38.
Nelson, N.W., Anderson, C. R., Hoelzle, J. B., & Arbisi, P. A. (2014). Psychological assessment of veterans in outpatient mental health settings. For S.S. Bush (Ed.) Psychological assessment of veterans. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Nelson, N. W., Anderson, C. R., Thuras, P., Kehle-Forbes, S., Arbisi, P. A., Erbes, C. R., & Polusny, M. A. (2015). Factors associated with inconsistency in self-reported mild traumatic brain injury over time among military personnel in Iraq. The British Journal of Psychiatry,206, 237-244.
Davenport, N. D., Lamberty, G. J., Nelson, N. W., Lim, K. O., Armstrong, M. T., & Sponheim, S. R. (2016). PTSD confounds detection of compromised cerebral white matter integrity in military veterans reporting a history of mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury,30,1491-1500.
Disner, S. G., Kramer, M. D., Nelson, N. W., Lipiniski, A., Christensen, J. M., Polusny, M. A., & Sponheim, S. R. (2017). Functional impact of psychological and physiological aftereffects of trauma in combat-exposed veterans. Clinical Psychological Science.
2009-2016, Member, Editorial Board, The Clinical Neuropsychologist (TCN).
2012-present, Continuing Education Coordinator, The Clinical Neuropsychologist (TCN).
2016-present, Member, Editorial Board, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology (ACN)
2013-2018, Member, Board of Directors, American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN)
2018, Recipient, Alumnus Achievement Award, St. John’s University (SJU), Collegeville, MN