The Reef Check Australia Coast to Coral Community Lecture series is now on the Gold Coast! Join us for an evening of discovery, inspiration and appreciation of our local marine, coastal and catchment environments. Each month we have a new, interesting and engaging speaker.

This month, our speaker is Professor Tony Carroll from Griffith University’s School of Environment.

Prof. Tony Carroll obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney before taking research positions at the University of Hawaii and James Cook University. He then held a Program Leader position in Natural Product Chemistry at Griffith University's drug discovery collaboration with industry partner, AstraZeneca for 15 years.Tony moved to the Gold Coast campus of GU in 2008, taking up a position within the Griffith School of Environment and was later appointed Deputy Head of School, and was promoted to full Professor. Professor Carroll has extensive expertise in the fields of natural product chemistry, NMR spectroscopy, biodiscovery, chemical ecology, chemotaxonomy and organic synthesis. His current research focuses on infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer drug discovery.

Professor Carroll will be sharing how marine Invertebrates rely on chemicals to stop themselves from being eaten or infected, to create space to grow and to find each other. This talk will focus on Professor Carroll’s research on how to understand these phenomena and how chemical communication is involved in coral spawning and development and nudibranch ecology. This research has also resulted in the discovery of chemicals from marine sponges and tunicates that could be developed into new treatments for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Further insights into how marine invertebrates communicate, and how they could help humans in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases will also be on the agenda.

6pm: Event opens
6:30: Grab a seat (will go fast!)
6:45: Talk kicks-off
7:30: Pizza & good conversation!

Entry is $3 including a slice of pizza!

Please RSVP at our Facebook Event Page or email our team at [email protected] to let them know you plan on coming down!

This initiative is hosted by Reef Check Australia, and proudly supported by Queensland Government Community Sustainability Action Grants. 

Future talks will take place on the second Wednesday of each month.