Northern Rivers marine scientist to lead students at Lizard Island study tour

A NORTHERN Rivers marine scientist and teacher will lead students from across Australia on a national coral reef study tour at one of the country’s most significant research stations.

Marine scientist and school teacher Dr Justine Jacob, a lead science and mathematics teacher at Emmanuel Anglican College, will lead a select group of 16 high school students at the 2026 Lizard Island Coral Reef Study Tour.

The trip is funded by the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation.

Dr Jacob is a former Lizard Island Doctoral Fellow who completed her PhD at the University of Queensland and has extensive experience leading student and research groups on the island.

She said returning with support from the foundation represented a full circle moment in her career.

“When I received the Doctoral Fellowship, I was over the moon. It gave me the opportunity to carry out all my PhD research at Lizard Island,” she said.

“Now I get to take students to experience what field science is really like by being out on the reef, collecting data and seeing how research is done in real time.”

Dr Jacob said Lizard Island remained one of the world’s premier coral reef research locations.

“The Lizard Island Research Station is the place every marine biologist studying coral reefs wants to go. It’s state of the art and attracts some of the biggest names in coral reef science,” she said.

“There are still beautiful pristine reefs up there, but students also see firsthand the impacts of climate change, including coral bleaching.”

Dr Jacob spent four years completing her PhD studying the cleaning symbiosis between cleaner shrimp and reef fish.

Her research has taken her to locations including Papua New Guinea and Scandinavia, with some of the coral reefs she studied featured by David Attenborough.

She has also helped develop Emmanuel Anglican College’s Lizard Island program and has taken more than 85 students to the island during the past six years.

Dr Jacob encouraged Year 11 science students interested in marine science to apply for the national tour.

“We’ve built a really strong program at Emmanuel over the past six years and I’m proud that so many students have been able to experience Lizard Island,” she said.

“Taking them to the reef and getting them to see how beautiful it is, makes them become advocates for coral reefs and reducing the impacts we are having on the environment.”