The Bellairs Research Institute, located on the Caribbean island of Barbados, was founded in 1954 as a marine biology field-station for McGill University.

[1] The institute is used by both undergraduate and graduate students in a range of subjects, including marine science, geography, economics, engineering and international development studies.

Bellairs hosts numerous McGill University field-courses and workshops throughout the year, including Applied Tropical Ecology, Geography, and the Barbados Field Study Semester (BFSS).

The shallow coral reef, and calm and clear water found on the west coast of Barbados, make Bellairs ideally suited to marine research.

The founding director of Bellairs was McGill University biologist, Dr. John Lewis, who developed an international reputation for his coral reef research in the 1950s and 60s, particularly on the biology and ecology of the Diadema (sea urchin) and flying fish.