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2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to trio for optogenetics
Karl Deisseroth (US), Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel (Germany) win the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics; the 12 million kronor prize is shared.
Why it matters
Optogenetics lets scientists switch individual nerve cells on and off with light, opening a new era in neuroscience. The method is now used in laboratories worldwide to reveal the neural circuits behind memory, emotion and behaviour, and is being tried clinically to restore sight in visually impaired people.
Full report
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm announced on Monday that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Karl Deisseroth, 54, of Stanford University in the United States, Peter Hegemann, 71, of Humboldt University in Berlin, and Georg Nagel, 73, of the University of Würzburg in Germany, "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics."
The breakthrough began in the 1990s when Hegemann discovered a light-sensitive protein in a single-celled alga; working with Nagel, they showed the protein acts as a switch — channelrhodopsin — that opens a channel for ions when exposed to light. Deisseroth then showed the protein could be used to control nerve cells, enabling researchers to study specific groups of neurons.
The three laureates share a prize sum of 12 million Swedish crowns (about $1.2 million). They will receive the prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10. The medicine prize opens Nobel week: physics follows on October 6, chemistry on October 7, literature on October 8, peace on October 9, and economics on October 12.
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