Mars Coral Reef
Restoration

Alyssa was a Phd student at Griffith University, University, graduating in 2023. Alyssa’s PhD thesis “Marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation” looked at how coastal ecosystems can be used to help communities adapt to climate change. Her chapters included systematic literature review, spatial planning and modelling. 

Alyssa also completed projects in collaboration with Mars, focusing on the use of power analysis as a tool for scaling-up monitoring of coral reef restoration. 

Dr Emma Camp is an award-winning and internationally renowned corals expert who is passionate both about the protection of coral reefs, and the involvement of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Emma is the Team Leader of the Future Reefs Program within the Climate Change Cluster at UTS. 

Her research focuses on the physiology, ecology and biogeochemistry of coral reefs, and she was a co-founder of the Coral Nurture Program, a new approach for caring for the Great Barrier Reef initiated by a partnership between tourism and science.

Justin Geldard is a PhD Student at University of Western Australia. 

As a coastal engineering researcher, keen free-diver, surfer and open water swimmer, he is passionate about exploring how to sustainably rehabilitate coral reefs and ecosystems that have been damaged by extreme climactic events. His research uses 3D printing technology to re-create coral structures which are then fitted with sensors for testing wave resilience.

Joanie Kleypas is a marine scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who investigates how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is affecting marine ecosystems. Joanie has been heavily involved in the topic of "ocean acidification" since 1999, and has served on multiple national and international committees to help define and tackle the problem.

Joanie strives to conduct research that guides efforts to conserve coral reefs and other marine ecoystems during the high-CO2 window that is inevitable over the next few decades. She is currently using high-resolution modelling to address these issues in the Coral Triangle, a region of extreme marine biodiversity in the western tropical Pacific.

Rindah Talitha Vida is a marine biologist from Indonesia with a focus on marine ecology and conservation, particularly specialising in coral reef ecosystems. With three years of experience working on coral reef restoration projects in Indonesia, her current research is dedicated to evaluating the functional performance of restored coral ecosystems. This research examines habitat complexity to assess how effectively restored reefs can support diverse marine life and contribute to overall ecosystem health.

Gita is an early career standout marine scientist, currently undertaking her Masters degree of marine science at IPB University. Gita has been part of both Mars Coral Reef Restoration Science Fieldwork Expeditions which took place in September 2022 and May 2023, where she was mentored in restoration science and monitoring by renowned scientists Dr. Timothy Lamont, Ben Williams, Jason Lynch and Dr. Ines Lange. Over 2023, Gita will complete the Sheba Hope Advocate Program (under sponsorship) and a 3-month studentship between September to December where she will visit world leading research institutes, present at a UK scientific conference, and develop her research career under Dr. Timothy Lamont.

Dr Tries Razak is a global expert on coral reef restoration. She has worked for decades with restoration programmes across Indonesia, generating a prolific record of impactful research. 

She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Research Centre for Oceanography, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia and serves as an Advisor to the Governor of West Java Province on marine affairs and fisheries. She received her PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia, her MSc in Marine Biodiversity and Systematics from Leiden University, Netherlands, and obtained her BSc in Marine Science from IPB University, Indonesia.

Eric Fisher has been a Marine Biologist on the Great Barrier Reef for 19 years, working for Reef Magic Cruises. With a dream of connecting tourism and science, Eric and the team at Reef Magic are making that vision a reality.

Jamaluddin Jompa is a Professor in Marine Ecology at Hasanuddin University, with considerable experience in both research and management aspects of coastal and marine ecosystems with an emphasis on sustainable and multidisciplinary approaches. He has written a number of international publications and books in collaboration with international researchers and organizations.

Professor David Suggett is Chief Scientist for the KAUST Reefscape Restoration Initiative (KRRI) at Shushah Island and a Professor in Practice (BESE) at KAUST. He is a world leading expert in coral biology and how corals shape the functioning of reef systems, from scales spanning coral reef microbes to human-ecological interactions. Prior to moving to KAUST in 2023, he was a Professor at University of Technology Sydney, where he established and led the "Future Reefs" Program, Australia's largest team dedicated to unlocking how the environment and climate change influence corals of the Great Barrier Reef. This interest led to a world-first partnership between researchers and tourism (the largest economic asset to the Great Barrier Reef) to restore degraded sites at scale, the "Coral Nurture Program", which he co-founded and led for 4 years.

Dr. C. Isabel Nuñez Lendo is a coral reef scientist and co-founder of Sistars Productions, a documentary production company that is dedicated to revolutionizing documentary storytelling to change the world’s narrative with a multidisciplinary approach.

For over 15 years Dr. Lendo’s work has taken her to coral reefs around the world, including the Bahamas, the Philippines, Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Australia, where she has studied and contributed to 12 scientific research papers. 

Ryan Lowe is a Professor of coastal oceanography at the University of Western Australia and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. 

His research focuses on the study of the physical drivers of coastal processes and hazards, including how nearshore processes govern coastal flooding and erosion risk that threaten coastal populations and infrastructure, as well as how these processes are modified by coastal ecosystems. A major area of research is also on developing novel solutions to mitigate wave-driven coastal hazard risk, with a particular emphasis on integration of natural and nature-based features. His research utilises a wide range of field studies, laboratory (physical modelling) experiments and numerical models.