John A. Burt is an Associate Professor of Biology and Head of the Environmental Studies Program at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). As a marine biologist with over a decade of experience working on marine systems across Arabia, Burt leads the NYUAD Marine Biology Lab where his research focuses on understanding how marine organisms such as corals, fishes, seagrass and mangroves respond to and cope with extreme environmental conditions, and how this can help understand future climate change impacts. He is the Chair of the Middle East chapter of the International Coral Reef Society, and in this role seeks to raise global awareness of the unique nature of reefs across the Arabian region. Burt is also a co-Principal Investigator in the NYUAD Water Research Center, and he is an Investigator in the NYUAD CITIES Center. Burt has published over 100 scholarly articles and book chapters focused on marine systems of the UAE and surrounding nations, including in world-class journals such as Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Climate Change and others. Burt has a long history of engaging the local public in marine science, and was awarded the 2017 Sheikh Mubarak Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan Award for Natural History of the United Arab Emirates.

Most research interests for a scientist

• Marine biology
• Adaptation
• Climate change