Professor Nicole Webster is a global leader in marine microbial symbiosis and has generated transformational insights into coral reef microbiology. She pioneered the application of molecular tools to study sponge microbial symbioses, discovering that sponges are a major contributor to the bacterial diversity of the world's oceans. Professor Webster elucidated mechanisms of sponge symbiont transmission, established the ecological and evolutionary drivers of sponge-microbe interactions, provided the first insights into the role of viral auxiliary metabolic genes in sponge ecology, revealed a critical role for sponge symbionts in cycling reef organic matter and provided the first insights into sponge holobiont responses to climate change.