Dr. Nelson is a Professor Emeritus, Division of General Surgery with the UT Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville. His clinical focus has been endocrine surgery, minimally invasive surgery, breast surgery, and hernia surgery. His research focus has been on endocrine surgery, general surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and rural surgery. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine and is board-certified with the American Board of Surgery.