Melissa Cristina Márquez is a Puerto Rican marine biologist and science communicator. She studies chondrichthyan fishes, including great white sharks.^[1]

Márquez was inspired to study sharks when she first saw a great white shark on the Discovery Channel program Shark Week when she moved from Mexico to the United States.^[2] She completed her undergraduate degree at the New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida, and a master's degree from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.^[3][4][5] Márquez is currently pursuing a PhD at Curtin University in Australia, where she uses remote sensing techniques to assess environmental influences on the composition and distribution of elasmobranchs.^[6]

Márquez is involved in multiple forms of public engagement. She launched The Fins United Initiative to provide "scientifically accurate and open-access (free) materials for educators worldwide", which includes bilingual resources for educators.^[7][8][9] She co-hosts ConCiencia Azul, a podcast that interviews Spanish-speaking researchers about ocean-related topics and unique challenges faced in Hispanic countries.^[8][9] In spring 2021, Márquez wrote a children's book series, titled Wild Survival!, based on her animal encounters.^[8] In 2023, she published a children's picture book titled Mother of Sharks.^[10] She is also a contributor to Forbes' science section.^[11]

In 2018, during a taping of Shark Week, Márquez was attacked by a crocodile while on a shark dive.^[2][3][4]

Márquez has previously been recognized as a member of InStyle's February 2021 Badass 50 list, and as a member of the annual Forbes 30 under 30 - Science list (2021).^[8][12] She has spoken about her research for various media outlets, including NPR, National Geographic, and BBC.^{[13][14][4][15][16]} She was named to Fuse Media's Future Hispanic History Class of 2021.^[1]

• Oceanography's Diversity Deficit: Identifying and Addressing Challenges for Marginalized Groups. Salma T. Abdel-Raheem, Allison R. Payne, Milagros G. Rivera, S. Kersey Sturdivant, Nia S. Walker, Melissa C. Márquez, Armando Ornelas, Mo Turner, Kelsey Byers, Roxanne S. Beltran. Oceanography. 20 December, 2023.
• Science Communication in Multiple Languages Is Critical to Its Effectiveness. Melissa C. Márquez and Ana Maria Porras. Frontiers in Communication. 22 May 2020.
• How 'Blue' Is 'Green' Energy? Andrew J. Wright, Claryana Araújo-Wang, John Y. Wang, Peter S. Ross, Jakob Tougaard, Robin Winkler, Melissa C. Márquez, Frances C. Robertson, Kayleigh Fawcett Williams, Randall R. Reeves. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 2020.