Nobel laureate Karl Deisseroth shares award news with his children, then packs their lunches
publishers 92articles 111first reported 5 Oct, 00:00 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 15 editions
Stanford University professor Karl Deisseroth celebrated winning the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by waking his children to tell them the news, before returning to a routine family task: making their school lunches.
A video released by Stanford showed Deisseroth’s daughters screaming with excitement and hugging him. His 16-year-old son, Hudson, appeared stunned when told, then embraced his father and exchanged high-fives with him. Deisseroth’s eldest son, Alexander, 18, was already at Stanford when he learned of the award and cycled home to join the family.
Deisseroth, 54, shares the prize with German researchers Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries involving light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The technique uses light-sensitive proteins to activate or inhibit selected nerve cells, allowing scientists to examine links between neural circuits, behavior and disease.
After learning of the award early Monday and spending hours speaking with journalists and well-wishers, Deisseroth paused to prepare sandwiches and pack lunches for his children.
The three laureates’ work has helped establish optogenetics as a widely used neuroscience research tool. Researchers have explored potential applications involving vision loss, epilepsy and neurological and psychiatric disorders, although experts say safety and other issues must be addressed before many treatments can be widely used in people.
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