Jens Zinke is a professor in palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. He focuses on the understanding of natural and anthropogenic impacts from climate change and land use change on tropical coral reefs in the past, present, and future across the Indian Ocean, the tropical Atlantic, and Southeast Asia. He has worked in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Australia, and has collaborations across Australia, Southeast Asia, the US, Europe, and Africa. His key philosophy is working with scientists across the earth, climate, social and biological sciences, crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries to achieve novel research outcomes that enable the scientific community to better understand the long-term context and impacts of environmental change and increasing human pressure on coral reefs.