Mark Hay

Professor and Harry and Linda Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology

Mark Hay's lab focuses on the chemical ecology of marine organisms but they collaborate broadly to determine the potential pharmaceutical application of the bioactive secondary metabolites they discover in their ecological research. Thus, one objective of the lab is to discover small molecule drug leads against a targeted group of diseases (including cancer) critical to developing nations and to the United States, by using ecological insights to guide the investigation of novel natural products from biodiverse coral reef organisms and marine microbes. Presently their expeditions related to drug discovery are focused primarily on coral reefs and deep water sediments in Fiji. The project also helps build local institutions and attitudes to conserve marine biodiversity of the South Pacific, and undertakes this goal in ways that provide positive economic incentives for the owners of these marine environments.