He is a sociologist by training and holds a PhD degree in social science. Nielsen’s research focuses on gender in science including how gender diversity influences research outcomes. Nielsen recently ended a two-year stint as a postdoc in Gendered Innovations at Stanford University. He has published numerous papers on the topic of gender in science, including pieces in Nature, Nature Human Behaviour, PNAS, Journal of Informetrics, Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, Science and Public Policy, Studies in Higher Education and Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.