Professor of Evolutionary Biology Toby Kiers wins the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her research on the importance of mycorrhizal fungi in underground carbon fluxes, biodiversity and climate resilience.
Kiers is receiving the award, also called the "Nobel Prize for the Environment," for her influential work in the field of fungal research.
Kiers, born in New York City, began studying fungi in the tropical rain forests of Panama when she was 19. In 2014, she was appointed professor at VU University Amsterdam. Her research shows that underground networks of mycorrhizal fungi are essential for sustaining life on Earth.
Underground Advocates
As part of this award, Kiers announces that her nonprofit organization, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), is launching a new program, Underground Advocates. This program gives scientists legal tools to protect fungal biodiversity.
The program was developed in collaboration with the More-than-Human-Life (MOTH) Program at New York University's (NYU) law school. In the program, scientists gain legal and policy skills to document and protect mycorrhizal fungi in biodiversity hotspots worldwide.
Urgent action needed
"Ninety percent of our most diverse underground fungal systems are currently without protection. Therefore, urgent action is needed to integrate fungal data into global conservation plans," said Kiers. The initiative is expected to include at least five new conservation projects led by "underground advocates" worldwide.
In 2025, Kiers received the MacArthur Fellowship. In 2023, she was the youngest recipient ever of the Spinoza Prize, and in 2022, she was included in the TIME100 Next list and recognized as an Explorers Club 50 honoree. That same year, she received the Stairway to Impact Award from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. She won the Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award in 2021 and the Ammodo Science Award in 2019.
Tyler Prize
Founded in 1973, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement has awarded numerous global environmental leaders, including Jane Goodall, Michael Mann and Gretchen Daily. The youngest female laureate in the history of the prize, Kiers will receive $250,000, administered by the University of Southern California.
Read more at the Tyler Prize website.
