Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research into optogenetics
The winners – one American and two Germans – laid the foundations for oprogenetics, the discipline that combines genetics and optics to study the behaviour of cells. The award ceremony will take place at the Konserthuset (“Concert Hall”) in the Swedish capital on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth (USA), Peter Hegemann (Germany) and Georg Nagel (Germany) “for their discoveries concerning light-activated ion channels and optogenetics”. The winners were announced at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm by the Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly, Thomas Perlman.
Deisseroth, a 54-year-old American, and the Germans Hegemann (71) and Nagel (73), were selected by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, the Swedish medical university, and will receive a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor (1.2 million dollars), which is divided equally amongst multiple winners.
“Optogenetics ‘enables the activation or deactivation of individual nerve cells in a living brain’,” said the members of the award committee. “This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to unravel the mysteries of the brain.”
‘Nobel Week’ gets underway
The award ceremony at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm is accompanied by a cash prize which this year amounts to 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to approximately 1.2 million dollars, a sum that remains the same regardless of whether the prize is awarded to an individual, a group of laureates or an organisation. Last year, three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries on how the immune system distinguishes between germs to attack and our own bodies.
The announcement of the Nobel Prize in Medicine will be followed tomorrow, Tuesday 6 October, by that for Physics; on Wednesday 7 by that for Chemistry; and on Thursday 8 by that for Literature. This will be followed on Friday 9 by the award of the Peace Prize, whilst the Nobel Prize in Economics will be awarded on 12 October.
