Research Team

Associate Professor Tracy Ainsworth is an expert in coral biology, coral disease and histopathology, coral-microbe interactions, and cell biology. She applies this expertise to understanding coral health, bleaching and disease susceptibility. Dr Ainsworth leads a research group currently investigating coral thermal tolerance and bleaching responses across tropical and temperate reef systems of Australia at The University of New South Wales, where she is a Scientia Fellow. She has also established a coral mariculture facility at the Sydney Institute for Marine Science. Her research has documented multi-species response to bleaching and temperature stress on the Great Barrier Reef, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island Reefs. Dr Ainsworth provides expertise and student supervision for species selection and biological justification for biobanking of endemic and generalist species.