Allison Fong

From 2011 to 2014, Fong served on board of directors for Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.^[2] From 2016 to 2018, she was a member of the International Arctic Science Committee's marine working group.^[2] She is currently a researcher for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.^[1]

Fong was the leader of the ecology team for the 2019-2020 MOSAiC Expedition to the central Arctic.^[3][4] She studied phytoplankton and other algae to determine how they are able to survive in the absence of light under the polar ice.^[5] The expedition and Fong's research was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic when researchers were unable to return after the outbreak.^[6] In total, Fong spent nine months at sea during the expedition.^[7]

In 2026, Fong appeared in the National Geographic documentary Pole to Pole with Will Smith.^[8] Smith dived below polar ice with Fong to assist in collecting microbial samples.^[9] Fong cites the importance of studying sea ice algae as "fundamental to the habitability of Earth".^[10]

Fong was a finalist for the 2024 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award.^[11]