Samuel Bekele Mengistu is a quantitative geneticist. His research focuses on genetic improvement of aquatic animals and improvement of aquaculture productivity. He obtained his PhD in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Wageningen University and Research. During his PhD research, he spent two years as a visiting researcher at WorldFish Malaysia. He also holds an MSc in Aquaculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway. With specialization in aquaculture and fish genetics, he is one of the few fish geneticists in Africa.

He has been with WorldFish as aquatic genetics scientist since October 2024, working across Southern African countries. Before this, he worked for private industry in Kenya and Rwanda as a consultant geneticist and later as a group genetic improvement program manager. He also served in different capacities at Hawassa University as a Graduate Assistant, Lecturer, and Assistant Professor. He has extensive experience in aquaculture and designing fish breeding programs in Asia and Africa.