Emma Camp, PhD

Prof. Emma Camp is an award-winning marine biologist internationally recognised for her pioneering research on coral reef resilience, reef restoration and her advocacy for gender equity in STEM. As Team Leader of the Future Reefs Program within the Climate Change Cluster at UTS, A. Prof. Camp leads interdisciplinary research focused on the physiology, ecology, and biogeochemistry of coral reef systems.

Her work explores the adaptive capacity of corals to environmental stress, with a particular emphasis on highly tolerant ‘super corals’ that may hold the key to reef survival under climate change. She is also a co-founder of the Coral Nurture Program, a collaborative initiative between scientists and the tourism industry aimed at enhancing reef stewardship on the Great Barrier Reef.

Since 2013, Emma has received or been shortlisted for over 30 prestigious awards. These include receiving the 2025 Mid-Career Researcher Medal from the Australian Coral Reef Society, named a Young Leader from the World Economic Forum, a 2023 WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Award, the 2021 Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher, and recognition as a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine in 2020. She is also a L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow, a recipient of the Australian Academy of Science’s Max Day Award and the Tall Poppy Science Award, and was named a STEM Women’s Game Changer in 2020.

In 2018, she was appointed a Young Leader for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and awarded an ARC DECRA Fellowship. Dr Camp is also a National Geographic Explorer and is deeply committed to public engagement, aiming to connect communities with science to drive meaningful action for the planet.