STOCKHOLM — Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on October 5, 2026. The award recognized their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. "So this prize really captures the full journey of discovery," Karl Deisseroth said.

The announcement took place at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Optogenetics is a method that uses light to switch on or off the activity of individual nerve cells. When exposed to blue light, channelrhodopsin opens a channel through the cell membrane, allowing positively charged ions to flow in and generate an electrical signal.

Deisseroth is affiliated with Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Hegemann is affiliated with Humboldt University in Berlin. Nagel is affiliated with the University of Würzburg in Germany. The prize money is 12 million Swedish kronor.

Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin while working at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, in the early 2000s. They identified channelrhodopsin-1 and channelrhodopsin-2, light-sensitive proteins found in the single-celled alga Chlamydomonas. The discovery of channelrhodopsin by Hegemann and Nagel in 2002 was initially published in the journal Nature, laying the foundation for the development of optogenetics.

In 2005, Karl Deisseroth's research group introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin-2 into rat nerve cells grown in the laboratory, causing them to generate nerve signals when exposed to blue light. Deisseroth and his team demonstrated that optogenetics could be used to control nerve cells in the brains of living mice.

Why It Matters

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has historically awarded the Physiology or Medicine Prize to researchers in the field of neuroscience on 12 occasions since 1901, including this year’s award to Deisseroth, Hegemann, and Nagel. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to multiple individuals on 36 occasions, with the 2026 award being the 118th such instance since 1901. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded 117 times since 1901. There have been 235 laureates in Physiology or Medicine, of whom 14 have been women.

The schedule for the remaining prizes continues through mid-October. The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday. The Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on October 12.

Timeline

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded on 5 October 2026, as stated in the official record from the NobelPrize.org. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel are the recipients of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. "I have followed Karl Deisseroth’s career since he received an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award as an assistant professor in 2005," Jeremy Berg said.

"Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of," Per Svenningsson said. "His work displays the power of engineering approaches with a deep knowledge of human physiology," he said. "I am not at all surprised that his work has ended up with a Nobel Prize," he said. "That seemed plausible even during his Pioneer interview in 2005," he said. "All three said the same thing, that they thought it was absolutely wonderful to receive the prize with the other two; they called them ‘my friends,’" Thomas Perlmann said.

What's New

Additional records indicate the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded 117 times since 1901. Jeremy Berg stated, "I have followed Karl Deisseroth’s career since he received an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award as an assistant professor in 2005." Karl Deisseroth was previously awarded the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 2021, a prestigious U.S. biomedical prize often considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Karl Deisseroth was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2010 and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2011, marking him as one of the most prominent neuroscientists in the United States. Per Svenningsson stated, "Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of."