[Seminar] Prof. Ruth Gates on 7/27 (Thursday) @ 2pm-3pm

Title: Harnessing Basic Science to Address an Ecological Crisis

Abstract:   Coral reefs in Hawaii and across the globe continue to decline in health due to intensifying climate change, resource extraction and pollution. Although the future looks bleak, certain corals and reefs are not only surviving, but thriving in conditions that kill others.  Dr. Gates will unveil the complex biology that underpins this natural variation in the response of corals to stress.  She will then discuss how this knowledge can be harnessed to develop tools that build resilience on reefs, arresting and improving the prognosis for coral reefs. 

Short Bio:  Dr. Ruth D. Gates is the Director of, and a researcher at, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), University of Hawaii at Manoa. She attained her PhD from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California at Los Angeles. She moved to Hawaii in 2003 and has built a dynamic and globally recognized research group at the HIMB that focuses on coral health. Leveraging advances in this basic research area, Ruth and her colleague Madeleine van Oppen won the 2012 Paul G Allen Ocean Challenge with their idea to assist the evolution of corals and develop capacity to stabilize reefs in the face of climate change. She has published well over 100 scholarly articles and been recognized with many awards, including the University of Hawaii Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Research in 2014 and Honolulu Magazine’s Islander of the Year for Science in 2016. Ruth is the elected President of the International Society for Reef Studies and a passionate advocate for coral reefs.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the seminar.