Coral Crisis: Issues & Response is a series of talks and panels held at NSU's Halmos College of Natural Sciences & Oceanography Oceanographic Campus. This section is a talk by Stephen O'Brien, PhD. He is a world leading molecular biologist, population geneticist, genetic epidemiologist, and dedicated conservationist whom uses molecular genetics and bioinformatics tools to help protect endangered species and to resolve genetic determinants of devastating complex diseases such as HIV-AIDS and cancers. Dr. O’Brien is Professor and Research Director at NSU where he applies his experience to genome bioinformatics of marine vertebrate and invertebrate species in relation to ocean conservation with respect to reefs. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Science.