Dr. Pomponi received her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography in 1977 from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Since that time, she has conducted research on the systematics, ecology, physiology, and cell biology of marine sponges. A major emphasis of her research is on the development of methods for sustainable use of marine resources for drug discovery and development, and in particular, on developing cell lines of bioactive marine invertebrates and determining the role of associated microorganisms in the production of bioactive secondary metabolites.

Dr. Pomponi was a Research Scientist at the University of Maryland, Horn Point Environmental Laboratories until 1984. She joined Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in 1984, and was Group Leader of the Sample Acquisition Program for the SeaPharm Project and then the Division of Biomedical Marine Research until 1994. She has led numerous research expeditions to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean, and to the Galapagos Islands, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Seychelles, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and Lake Baikal, Russia. In 1994, she was appointed Director of the Division of Biomedical Marine Research, a multidisciplinary research program for the discovery of novel, marine-derived, biologically-active compounds with therapeutic potential.