Professor Nelson is a nurse researcher whose area of expertise is the evaluation of health technologies to prevent or treat chronic wounds and their complications. She studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, Adult Nursing at Kings College, London, and for a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Strathclyde.
Her clinical research and service role in leg ulceration with the Lothian and Forth Valley Leg Ulcer Study was initially followed by academic and research roles at the Universities of Liverpool and York. In those roles she contributed to pre-registration, post-registration and post-graduate education in wound care, skin integrity, and research methods for evaluating interventions.
She was Coordinator and is now an Editor of the Cochrane Wounds Group. Much of her research has been funded through the NHS National Institutes of Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR-HTA) stream of funding. Her contributions to health technology assessment for the (NIHR) include as deputy Chair of the External Devices and Physical Therapies Panel, and as a member of the Health Technology Assessment Commissioning Board.
Professor Nelson has also held University leadership roles at the University of Leeds, as Head of School of Healthcare and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health, and from 2018 as Dean of the School of Health and Life Sciences. Since 2021 she has been Pro Vice-Chancellor Research at Glasgow Caledonian University.
She continues to lead research into the management of chronic wounds and to national initiatives to improve wound care provision within Glasgow Caledonian University. Professor Nelson is the Executive lead for the Research and Innovation portfolio, oversees the Graduate School, and is responsible for the Impactful Research Strategy, part of our ambitious Strategy 2030. She also leads the related portfolios of Civic University engagement and Sustainable Development Goal integration and application across all our activity.