We are pleased to announce that six projects have been selected by an independent panel of experts for the 2026 Polar Access Fund. The successful proposals cover diverse research topics: polar biology and microbiology, environmental technology, glaciology, and climate adaptation. The grants, co-funded by the Swiss Polar Institute and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation, enable early-career researchers to conduct their initial fieldwork in polar and high-altitude regions, fostering the development of their research on climate and environmental changes.
The 2026 Polar Access Fund grantees are:
- Agathe Bredel (EPFL), Charting the biosynthetic potential of microbiomes at the ocean–glacier interface
- Alina Begley (Empa), POLAIR: Precursor Observation in Long-lived Arctic Air
- Chiara Mazioux (University of Geneva), Microbial connectivity and resilience of Arctic ecosystems in face of climate change
- Paolo Moccetti (SUPSI), Food-web responses to climatic variation in Greenlandic lakes: the role of Arctic charr piscivory
- Christophe Ogier (ETH Zurich), Geophysical and glaciological investigations at Biafo glacier, Karakoram (Pakistan)
- Lina Rodriguez (University of Geneva), Locally Led Preparatory Adaptation (LLPA): Harnessing Community Knowledge and Action to Reduce Climate Risk in Escoma, Bolivia
Since 2018, the Polar Access Fund has supported 50 projects, of which 24 have been led by women scientists:
- 33 projects in the Arctic.
- 4 projects in the Antarctic;
- 13 projects in high-altitude regions.
More information:
- About the Polar Access Fund
- Learn more about the projects
- About the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation
Photo credit: © Grace Marsh / Ianina Altshuler, all rights reserved
Illustration map made with QGIS, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0