Coral Reef Health

Dr. Tracy Ainsworth Associate Professor The University of New South Wales
Tracy is a marine scientist with a passion for corals, coral reefs, marine conservation and marine ecosystem conservation. Tracy has spent the last 20 years of her career studying the biology and ecology of corals and coral reefs, and is passionate about science to support evidence-based conservation. Tracy leads the Norfolk Island coral health assessment and research program, and co-leads the Great Barrier Reef research program.

Email: tracy.ainsworth@unsw.edu.au

Dr. Bill Leggat Professor The University of Newcastle
Bill is a marine scientist who has focused on applying molecular approaches (transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics) to understand how marine organisms respond to human stressors. His over 2 decades of research links molecular processes, to phenotype, and ecological patterns, to understand how marine organisms will cope with future climate change. Bill co-leads the Cook Island coral health assessment and research programs, Lord Howe Island and Great Barrier Reef coral health assessment and research programs.

Email: bill.leggat@newcastle.edu.au

Dr. Troy Gaston Professor The University of Newcastle
Troy has over 25 years experience in conducting environmental health monitoring programs in coastal ecosystems. He uses novel chemical tracers to determine food web interactions, human disturbance and the presence of pollutants in waterways. He also uses remote underwater technologies to survey fish and invertebrate communities. Troy Gaston leads the catchment-to-coral research programs and coral health assessment programs for Cook Islands and Samoa Research Program.

Email: troy.gaston@newcastle.edu.au

Dr Moninya Roughan Professor The University of New South Wales
Moninya is affiliated with the Coral Reef Health Program through her role as Oceanography leader within our successful Australian government Our Marine Parks funding. Moninya is a Professor of Oceanography at The University of New SouthWales and a recognised global leader in Oceanography. Moninya works closely with governments and communities across the Indo-Pacific and South-Pacific where her research is transforming our understanding of how climate change will impact these critically important ocean systems.

Email: moninyan.roughan@unsw.edu.au

Dr Tom Moir – Benthic Ecologist, Research Associate. The University of Newcastle. Tom is completing his PhD at the University of Newcastle and joined the Coral Reef Health Team as a field ecologist. His PhD research focuses on understanding the effects of environmental warming on seagrass ecosystems. His research has also investigated the effects of climate change on temperate seagrass fish communities. He joined the Coral Reef Health team in December 2024 as a benthic ecologist and field-based research specialist undertaking assessments of benthic community structure and organism health in logoonal reefs of Norfolk Island, Cook Islands, and assisting research on the Southern Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe Island.

Dr Roisin Hayden – Coral Biologist, University of Newcastle and The University of New South Wales.

Roisin joins the Coral Health Team after relocating from Hong Kong to Australia, Ro completed her PhD at the University of Hong Kong, where her work focused on nutritional mutualism of corals and their symbionts. Working with the Coral Health Team Ro will be undertaking research on the Southern Great Barrier Reef investigating coral recovery from bleaching events as part of our Australian Research Council funded discovery project.

Dr Naama-Rose Kochman – Coral Biologist, Visiting Research Fellow The University of New South Wales.

… to be updated….

Roan Panther – Research Associate, The University of Newcastle
Roan completed his Honours degree with the University of Newcastle investigating habitat associations of fishes on the subtropical reefs of Norfolk Island. He has research experience in comparing fish assemblages between habitat types (for example coral reef, sand, macroalgae, Caulerpa bed, and reef/macroalgae mix) to aid our understanding of subtropical reefs! Roan tells us that while his background is studying fish, he has a strong interest in coral reef systems.

Paige Sawyers – PhD Candidate, The University of New South Wales
Paige is undertaking her PhD at the University of New South Wales. Paige began her PhD research in 2023 focusing on the biology of coral bleaching after completing her Bachelor of Science (Honours) where her research investigated the microbiome of corals from Heron Island and Lord Howe Island. In her PhD Paige is studying the impacts of coral bleaching to corals of the Lord Howe Marine Park, and has also undertaken coral bleaching monitoring on reefs of Samoa. ​

James Wong – PhD Candidate, The University of Newcastle
James is a PhD Candidate at UoN, starting his research in 2023 he is studying the ecology of subtropical reef fishes at Norfolk Island. He has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Marine Science and completed an Honours, also with UoN studying food web dynamics of seagrass-associated fishes in Lake Macquarie. Jim loves loves all things fish and foodwebs!

​Susan Prior – PhD Candidate The University of Newcastle
Susan is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle starting her research in 2025, her studies focus on the ecology of Norfolk fishes and the historical uses of the Norfolk Reef. Susan is also science communicator, editor, and writer who works on Norfolk Island. Susan also contributes to citizen science by submitting validated observations through iNaturalist and maintaining an extensive, time-stamped photographic record of reef change

Holly Hendry – Masters Student University of Glasgow visiting student University of New South Wales.
Holly is completing her integrated master’s at the University of Glasgow in Marine and Freshwater Biology. As part of her degree Holly has undertaken a research practicum at the University of New South Wales in 2025 where her research focused on seasonality of heat stress responses in corals of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Amy Levinson – Honours Student, The University of Newcastle
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science from Southern Cross University, specialising in Marine Systems, and previously worked as a research assistant in a benthic ecology lab investigating the impacts of thermal stress on intertidal rocky platforms. She is now completing her Honours at the University of Newcastle, with research based at Heron Island on the southern Great Barrier Reef. Her project focuses on how different coral species respond to and recover from varying levels of heat stress, using an interspecies comparison to investigate recovery processes and improve understanding of coral resilience in the face of climate change.