Karl Deisseroth and German scientists win Nobel medicine prize for optogenetics
publishers 89articles 102first reported 5 Oct, 00:00 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 15 editionstop 25 #6
Stanford University professor Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that enabled optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control specific nerve cells.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet cited the three researchers for “their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” The technology allows researchers to manipulate neural circuits with high specificity, helping them study links between the brain and behavior. Researchers have used optogenetics in animal studies involving addiction, mood disorders, depression and Alzheimer’s disease, while experimental work has explored applications for blindness, cochlear implants and epileptic seizures. Taiwanese academics cautioned that safety and other issues must be addressed before broad use in treating people with neurological or psychiatric disorders.
After receiving the news Monday morning, Deisseroth woke his daughters and told his sons, prompting hugs, cheers and high-fives captured in a video released by Stanford. He also continued his regular morning routine, making sandwiches and packing school lunches for his children.
Deisseroth is scheduled to speak at Academia Sinica in Taiwan in March 2027 as part of a lecture series established by former academy president Wong Chi-huey, according to the Science Media Center Taiwan.
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