School of Biology Professor Mark Hay is busy for the next month doing marine ecology research in Fiji. He is a frequent visitor to Fiji because he is conducting NIH and NSF funded research on coral reef conservation and drug discovery based on marine natural products.

He and his collaborators are using ecological interactions as leads to discover bioactive compounds in marine algae and invertebrates with potential as pharmaceuticals. On this trip Dr. Hay is writing a blog for the New York Times (http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/a-disappearing-underwater-world/), so you can follow along with him and his team as they explore the coral reefs of Fiji.