Deisseroth, Hegemann, Nagel win 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for optogenetics discoveries

Scientists Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries involving light-sensitive ion channels and the development of optogenetics.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced the three scientists as this year’s laureates on Monday.

Their work gave scientists a powerful method for controlling specific nerve cells using light, transforming how researchers investigate the brain.

The scientists will share prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor.

Deisseroth is based at Stanford University in the United States, while Hegemann works at Humboldt University of Berlin and Nagel at the University of Würzburg in Germany.

What is optogenetics?

Optogenetics combines genetics and light to allow researchers to activate or inhibit specific cells — particularly neurons — with extraordinary precision.

The discoveries behind the method began with Hegemann and Nagel’s research into Chlamydomonas, a single-celled alga that responds rapidly to light.

Their work identified a light-sensitive protein known as channelrhodopsin.

When blue light strikes the protein, a channel opens and allows charged ions to enter a cell, generating an electrical impulse.

The discovery meant researchers could potentially make other cells respond to light by introducing the relevant gene.

Deisseroth and his colleagues later inserted the channelrhodopsin gene into neurons.

In 2005, he demonstrated that blue light could be used to trigger electrical activity in nerve cells, and subsequent work showed that the technique could function inside living brains.

The approach became known as optogenetics.

Why the discovery matters

Before optogenetics, scientists could identify areas of the brain associated with particular activities but often struggled to establish precisely how specific groups of neurons caused particular behaviours or responses.

Optogenetics allowed researchers to switch selected nerve cells on or off and observe what changed.

Scientists have since used the technique to study neural circuits involved in memory, emotion, behaviour and neurological or psychiatric disorders.

Researchers are also investigating possible clinical applications.

One area involves attempts to restore some vision in people with retinal disorders by introducing light-sensitive proteins into cells of the eye.

The Nobel Committee said the discoveries opened a new era in neuroscience by providing researchers with previously unavailable tools for mapping and understanding the brain.

The medicine award is the first Nobel Prize announced during the 2026 Nobel week