He began his tertiary studies through the Australian Defence Force Academy before transferring to Monash University to complete his medical studies. He obtained a MPH and a DPhil (Public Health) from Oxford University under a Rhodes Scholarship and is a Fellow of the UK and Australian Faculties of Public Health.
He joined the Nossal Institute in 2008.
In 2014, Nathan completed a Professional Doctorate in Public Health at Monash University using social network analysis to measure the impact of public health partnerships.

He is involved in public health training, research and advocacy. Nathan’s research expertise is in the areas of non-communicable diseases, disability inclusion, community health evaluation/monitoring, primary health care systems and understanding faith-based development agencies and programs.