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“I think I have the best job anywhere in the world,” said Katherine Bemis, a graduate of William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS who today works as a research zoologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “I get to think about fishes every day and I get to work with wonderful people and do cool stuff.” 

With an impressive career specializing in marine biodiversity and fish systematics, Bemis counts the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS as indispensable to her development as a scientist now doing critical work in NOAA Fisheries’ National Systematics Laboratory. “Nothing replaces that kind of feeling VIMS has,” she said, “where you have direct access to data specimens and experts right there on-site.” 

Fish teeth tell a scientific story 

Bemis chose the Batten School & VIMS for her graduate studies primarily due to the mentorship of Eric Hilton, curator of the expansive Nunnally Ichthyology Collection. "I picked VIMS because of Eric’s experience in collections-based studies of fishes," she recalled. "He's such a wonderful person, really kind, super smart and really dedicated to his students." Bemis said that she also benefited from knowing Sarah Huber, collection manager, “as a friend, colleague and mentor who I look up to.” 

Immersed in fish anatomy and systematics, Bemis concentrated on fish teeth and tooth replacement. “All fishes continuously replace their teeth throughout their life, so they don't have to go to the dentist,” she humorously explained, “but the ways that they replace those teeth is different. So, you can not only infer aspects of their biology, natural history and diet from their teeth, but also use that anatomical information to understand what other fishes they're most closely related to.” 

Bemis began by studying fishes with especially large teeth, like the fangs of cutlass and lancet fishes. “Then I also worked on fishes that have beaks like pufferfishes and their relatives, including ocean sunfishes,” she said. “I started working on their teeth but then got fascinated by the rest of their strange anatomy, so I expanded into other broader anatomical comparisons for sunfish.”  

Connecting research and fisheries management 

Bemis defended her Ph.D. dissertation on a Friday and started at NOAA’s Systematics Lab, based in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, the following Monday. “That was fantastic,” she said. “I was very fortunate the position opened at the right time. And I was encouraged to apply by a VIMS alum.” Bemis added that four out of the five scientists at the Systematics Lab are graduates of the Batten School & VIMS, with other fellow alumni positioned throughout the Smithsonian. 

With one foot in NOAA Fisheries and the other in the Smithsonian, Bemis describes her current position as a bridge between taxonomy and fisheries management. "I am excited to be working with fisheries surveys and using them to help us not only understand how to better manage and conserve our biodiversity, but also to integrate specimens collected on those surveys into our museums," she says. "My role here is being a liaison between those two worlds, connecting research happening in systematics and taxonomy with fisheries-based programs." 

Using species identification for seafood safety and fisheries management 

Bemis’ work on species identification is applied in nature and to the benefit of U.S. consumers, including close collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “In order to know seafood is safe to sell and safe to eat, you need to know what it is and need to accurately label it,” she said. “You don’t want to think you’re buying a monkfish at the grocery store, and it turns out to be a possibly toxic pufferfish.” 

This work is a long-term project to build reference libraries that help the FDA test and ensure that fishes being sold in the U.S. are what they are supposed to be and do not pose risks to American consumers. Bemis and her team have traveled to Vietnam and the Philippines to sample fish markets and add to the library. "In markets in the Philippines, for example, there’s more than a thousand species that we’ve recorded being sold," she noted, “and we are finding that there are many new species that remain to be described.” 

Bemis also participates in fishery surveys conducted by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (U.N.) in order to better understand fish stocks on a global scale. Following a 2024 research expedition off West Africa, Bemis will travel to Mozambique in 2025 to spend five weeks on a U.N. survey vessel. There, she will serve as the reference fish taxonomist to ensure biological data used for sustainable fisheries management is correctly linked to the right species. 

“One of my favorite parts about this job is the international collaboration,” she said. "In order to understand the fishes that occur in US waters, we have to understand global occurrences of the same or similar fishes to have the full picture of their evolutionary history and identification... I've been fortunate since I started this role to do a lot of international research.” 

An active alumni gives back 

Despite her busy career, Bemis remains deeply connected to her alma mater. "I loved being a student at VIMS and I love to come back to campus," she said. Bemis is recognized at the Batten School & VIMS as an Affiliated Scholar, which means she continues to collaborate with faculty on research papers and, “most importantly,” she said, “I have been fortunate to join the committees of several graduate students.” 

Reflecting on her time in school, Bemis emphasized the advantage of having diverse opportunities for research as a graduate student. “I miss having dedicated research time where I can focus on something,” she admitted, “and you have that ability at VIMS pretty much every day if you commit to it. Use your flexibility as a grad student to pursue additional learning experiences.” 

For graduating students entering the workforce, she advised remaining open to unexpected career paths. "I didn’t anticipate working for the federal government. It's just that this great opportunity came at the right time and the right people helped me get here. It's important to remain open and flexible about how you can best use your skills to do the kind of science that you're excited about." 

Finally, Bemis said, “Doing science should be fun, so pick a place with good people and where you’re going to be happy. And whenever anybody wants to come up here to the lab, please have them reach out; I love to share our work with others, especially VIMS!” 

This alumni profile was written and published in March, 2025.