National Geographic Society Honors 15 Bold Changemakers with 2026 Wayfinder Award Presented by Kia
[Yarmouth, Maine, June 9, 2026] — Today, The Microbe Institute proudly announced that Anne A. Madden, Ph.D., Founder and President, has been named a 2026 recipient of the Wayfinder Award Presented by Kia, from the National Geographic Society, an honor extended annually to 15 visionaries whose outstanding achievements in science, conservation, education, technology and storytelling further the Society’s mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world.
Anne A. Madden is being recognized for her outstanding dedication to microbial discovery and for her research on harnessing microbes’ unique powers to address societal and environmental challenges. Through her work at The Microbe Institute and across her research career in industry and academia, Dr. Madden has named a new species to science, discovered novel antibiotics from soil bacteria, and developed patented brewing technology from a wasp yeast—now an industry standard for making sour beer. Her 2017 TED talk has been viewed more than 1.7M times.
Dr. Madden: “I’m humbled to receive this award, and grateful for my global collaborators who have made our research efforts possible. With this support from the National Geographic Society, we will further our institute’s efforts to democratize microbial discovery. Now, more than ever, we need to explore and conserve the unknown microbes around us—these microscopic alchemists—and harness their unique abilities. Whether we are striving to transform how we grow crops more sustainably, addressing challenges of off-planet travel, or fighting emerging diseases and the biodiversity crisis, the source of innovative technology to address these myriad problems may be the unknown microbes; possibly those no farther away than our house dust.”
Full press release and press kit from the National Geographic Society here.
