John Burt is a Professor of Biology at New York University Abu Dhabi. He holds a PhD and MS from the University of Windsor in Canada, a BS from Cape Breton University in Canada, and a PGCE from the University of Sunderland in the UK. His research focuses on marine biology, using the Arabian Gulf as a natural laboratory to study how marine organisms, including corals, coral symbionts, reef fishes, mangroves, and seagrasses, respond to extreme environmental conditions and climate change impacts. Burt leads the Burt Marine Biology Lab and serves as Head of the Environmental Studies program. He has published over 150 scholarly articles, book chapters, and books, with work appearing in journals such as Science Advances, Nature Communications, and Global Change Biology. Burt chairs the Mideast Coral Reef Society and is a council member of the International Coral Reef Society. He is a member of the Mohammed bin Rashid Academy of Sciences and leads the 'Climate Change & Terrestrial, Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems' research cluster for the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. In 2017, Burt received the Sheikh Mubarak Al Nahyan Award for the Natural History of the UAE. He served as lead editor of the book A Natural History of the Emirates, published in 2023 by SpringerNature. In 2022, he was awarded the Transformative Research Award, the highest research accolade at NYU Abu Dhabi. Burt is a Registered Professional Biologist and provides consulting expertise to regional government and industry partners.