He is the current Head of Biodiversity & Geosciences Programs at the Queensland Museum.
[1] His research has included studying the possible medical benefits of marine sponges, including beta blockers for heart disease, and for compounds to combat illnesses like gastro-intestinal disease and cancer.
[2][3] In 2007 he was a member of the Discussion Panel On Marine Genetic Resources for the eighth annual United Nations Informal Consultative Process for Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS).
[4] Together with Rob van Soest, Hooper co-edited the influential[2][3][5] book Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges.
[6] In addition, the Web of Science lists over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals that have been cited over 1650 times, with an h-index of 24.