Shirley Pomponi earned her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Miami. An ocean explorer and marine biotechnologist, her research focuses on marine sponge systematics, biotechnology, and conservation. Her research group at Florida Atlantic University and Wageningen University (Netherlands) developed the first marine sponge cell line as well as methods for sponge cell cryopreservation for long-term storage of viable marine sponge cells. With Dr. Megan Conkling established and actively maintains the first and only cryobank of living marine sponge cells, with more than 10,000 vials of cells from ~ 450 sponges representing ~125 species. On this expedition, Shirley will be cryopreserving tissues from deep-water sponges and other marine invertebrates for long-term conservation of living deep-water marine invertebrate tissues.Dr. Pomponi has participated in or led dozens of research expeditions worldwide, including serving as co-lead scientist on the NOAA Okeanos Explorer mission to the Mariana Trench, she has made more than 300 dives in the Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles, and she participated as an aquanaut in a NASA Extreme Environments Mission Operation (NEEMO), living and working underwater with NASA and ESA astronauts. She has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is co-inventor on several patents. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for In Vitro Biology for her contributions to marine invertebrate cell culture. She was identified by the annual Stanford-Elsevier ranking in 2025 as one of the top 2% of scientists worldwide, based on the impact of her scientific contributions. Although retired, she continues to advise and supervise students, as well as participate in marine sponge research and ocean exploration.
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