Dr. Jeanette Davis is a Marine Microbiologist who currently serves at NOAA Fisheries in the Office of Policy  where she conducts research and provides support on programs and policies regarding resources in the ocean. Dr. Davis was first exposed to the marine environment as a student at Hampton University during an internship where she lived on a 53-foot sailboat for a month, exploring the Chesapeake Bay. She earned a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science from Hampton University and a PhD. in Marine Microbiology from the University of Maryland, College Park. During her PhD. she studied bacteria association with tropical sea slugs that harbor medicinal compounds. Dr. Davis is recently cited in Science Magazine where she ultimately helped discover a bacterium associated with a Hawaiian sea slug that produces an anticancer compound.  

Currently Dr. Davis contributes to ocean science nationally and internationally. She recently worked with notable scientists to author a national publication released from the White House that highlights essential ocean research and technology topics for the next decade. She serves as the US representative for two intergovernmental advisory panels where she travels to various countries to promote, coordinate, and form scientific synergies between various countries and governments. Dr. Davis has traveled to over a dozen countries to discuss ocean science and has been featured in several prominent magazines such as Ebony, Essence, and Black Enterprise as the “next great marine biologist”. 

Outside of her professional career, Dr. Davis is a strong advocate of community and has mentored countless students from elementary to college, lectured at several colleges, and founded the Marquis Pressey Scholarship which has awarded two African American males in her hometown of Wilmington, DE.

Dr. Davis attributes much of her success as a scientist to a strong foundation that she received in the Marine Science Department at Hampton University where she currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. Dr. Davis lectures and holds membership on several graduate advisory committees through the Department and understands the importance of empowering young people through science.