Dr. Robert Dickey

Dr. Robert W. Dickey holds the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Regents Chair in Marine Science at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, where he serves as Director of the Institute and Chairman of the Department of Marine Science in the College of Natural Sciences.

Robert joined the University of Texas at Austin in 2013 after serving 28 years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At FDA Robert was Director of Agency seafood research & technology programs and led responses to seafood-borne illness outbreaks, international seafood trade issues and national emergencies such as Hurricanes Katrina & Rita (2005-2006) and the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Robert served on the U.S. National Science and Technology Council Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (2009-2013); as Deputy Senior Science Advisor to the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and as science advisor to the FDA Commissioner and Deputy Surgeon General during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill among other leadership roles.

At the University of Texas Robert directs the Marine Science Institute, a leading center for higher education, research and public outreach. The Institute is dedicated to advancing knowledge of estuarine, coastal and blue water oceans; training future generations of marine scientists, and increasing ocean literacy of the general public and societal leaders through diverse education and outreach programs.

Robert’s scholarly experiences are in the areas of marine natural toxins in seafood (e.g. Ciguatera and shellfish toxins), environmental toxicology, and analytical methods development for environmental and human health hazards.