Principal Investigators

The MRI's Principal Investigators are established academics based in Switzerland who guide the MRI's strategic direction as the MRI Board. They outline the objectives of the network and the features that define the functions of the MRI Coordination Office in supporting it.

Find a list of our former Principal Investigators here.

Principal Investigator,
since 2016

Chair, since 2019
Co-Chair, 2016 - 2019


Principal Investigator,
since 2021

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About 

Theresa Tribaldos is Head of Just Economies and Human Well-being Impact Area at the Centre for Development and Environment and UNESCO Chair on Natural and Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Mountain Development at the University of Bern.

Before joining the Centre for Development and Environment in 2015, she had a few years of experience in a consultancy firm for agricultural policy and regional development in Swiss mountain areas. She holds a PhD in International Relations from ETH Zurich, where she did research on conflict and cooperation over domestic water resources in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Sahel Area. Her Master of Arts in Geopolitics, Territory and Security from King's College London looked at internal conflict and sovereignty in Columbia. Her Master of Science in Geography from the University of Zurich focused on glaciology, geobotany, biogeography, climatology, GIS and hydrology.

Research Interests

KeywordsFood systems, transformation of food systems, sustainable regional development, just transition, transdisciplinarity, natural and cultural heritage.

Sustainable development is at the core of Theresa Tribaldos' research and focuses on food systems, sustainable regional development in mountain regions and protected areas, justice implications of transition and transformation, and the role of research networks in sustainable development. Transdisciplinarity plays an important role in her research. Besides Switzerland, she has research experience in different countries of the world such as Chile, Brazil, Kenya, Portugal, Morocco.

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Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern

Web Link ImageInstitute of Geography, University of Bern

Principal Investigator,
since 2023

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About 

Dr. Christian Rixen is a Senior Scientist at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, based in Davos, Switzerland. His research focuses on mountain ecosystems, including projects related to permafrost thaw, alpine meadows, woody encroachment, and the ecological effects of climate change in alpine regions.

Research Interests

Keywords: Mountain Ecosystems, Permafrost Thaw, Alpine Meadows, Woody Encroachment, Climate Change, Alpine Plant Communities, Biodiversity

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WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF

Principal Investigator,
since 2013

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About

Adrienne Grêt-Regamey is an environmental scientist and landscape planner. She has been Professor at the Chair of Planning Landscape and Urban Systems at the Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development, ETH Zürich (Switzerland) since 2008. 

Research Interests

Keywords: Sustainability, Spatial Planning, Spatial Modeling, Landscape and Environmental Planning, Urban Planning, 3D Visualization, Emerging and Developing Economies.

Currently, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey's research focuses on understanding how the interactions and/or actions of humans shape landscapes at various temporal and spatial scales, using different land-use decision models in forecasting and backcasting modes. For fostering participatory landscape planning, she investigates how people perceive the landscape in the three labs, where state-of-the-art 3D visualizations and auralizations of landscape changes are generated and decision support tools developed. She also explores how an iterative process between design and science can allow co-creating place-specific responses satisfying human needs and demands for well-being in a sustainable manner. For one of her recent research projects, the consortium was awarded the Swiss National Science Foundation Transdisciplinary Award. In 2017, she received an ERC Starting Grant for the project GLOBESCAPE linking design and land system science to foster place-making in peri-urban landscapes. In 2018, she was a finalist for the ETH ALEA Art of Leadership Award. In 2022, she was awarded Land's Influential Female Research in Land System Science Award.

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Web Link ImageETH Zurich Profile Page

Web Link ImagePlanning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS), ETH Zurich

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