Nobel medicine prize awarded to Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel for optogenetics
In short
The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine went to three scientists — Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel — for developing optogenetics, a technique that uses light to switch nerve cells on and off. The Nobel committee said the work has “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.” The Boston Globe reported the method could lead to treatments such as restoring some vision in people with a genetic form of blindness.
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The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded on Monday to three scientists — Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel — for work that produced optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control the activity of individual nerve cells. CNN and NPR reported the announcement, and The Boston Globe identified the recipients. The Nobel committee said the method works as a “light-sensitive switch,” allowing scientists to “map which cells are responsible for which function.” [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Hegemann, 71, and Nagel, 73, both German researchers, discovered a protein in algae known as channelrhodopsin, CNN reported, citing the committee. Deisseroth, 54, an American scientist, then “transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells,” the committee said. The Boston Globe said the trio carried out separate research that opened the new field, and described the technique as combining light with genes to switch neurons on and off in living brains. According to CNN, the committee said the work has “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.” [ 1 , 3 ]
Deisseroth is a professor of bioengineering and psychiatry at Stanford University in California and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, CNN and The Boston Globe reported. The Globe said he was born in Boston in 1971 and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemical sciences, entering Stanford University Medical School the same year. Hegemann is at Humboldt University in Berlin, and Nagel most recently worked at the University of Würzburg, the Globe reported. [ 1 , 3 ]
CNN reported that Deisseroth, working late on a paper, was drifting off to sleep when the committee called. “My phone rang at my bedside. There was about 30 seconds when I had trouble forming words,” he told a news briefing. Nagel learned he had won while “on the terrace, in the sun” in Italy. “I didn’t expect this, really!” he said, adding that he knew of only one patient who had profited from optogenetics and had thought it was still too early for the medicine prize. [ 1 ]
According to CNN, the committee said the technique lets researchers identify and even control the neural circuits that govern “specific memories, feelings, and behaviors relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders.” The Boston Globe reported the work could lead to treatments such as restoring some vision in people with a genetic form of blindness, and quoted Georgetown University neuroscientist Patrick Forcelli saying the advances had moved brain science from a “Rand McNally” road atlas to something more like “Google Earth.” [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The award puts a research technique that lets scientists map and control brain circuits at the centre of global attention, which the documents present as a step toward understanding neurological and psychiatric disorders. Deisseroth told the Nobel briefing that optogenetics has so far helped only one patient he knows of, indicating clinical use remains limited.
Key facts
- The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded on Monday to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The prize recognises optogenetics, a technique that combines light with genes to switch neurons on and off in living brains. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Hegemann and Nagel discovered the algal protein channelrhodopsin; Deisseroth turned it into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells, the Nobel committee said. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Deisseroth, 54, is a Stanford University professor in California; Hegemann, 71, is at Humboldt University in Berlin; Nagel, 73, most recently worked at the University of Würzburg. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The Boston Globe reported Deisseroth was born in Boston in 1971 and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1992. [ 3 ]
- The committee said the work had “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.” [ 1 ]
- The Boston Globe reported the technique could lead to treatments such as restoring some vision in people with a genetic form of blindness. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- How widely optogenetics is already used in patients. Only CNN carries Nagel’s remark that he knows of one patient who has profited from the technique, so the extent of clinical use is a single-source claim.
- Where exactly the announcement was made and the prize sum and ceremony details. CNN says the committee announced the honour in Sweden, but no document names the city or gives the award amount or ceremony arrangements.
- The Nobel committee said the work laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience, and described optogenetics as a “light-sensitive switch” that lets scientists map which cells are responsible for which function. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CNN publishes its report on the Nobel committee’s announcement of the medicine prize. [ 1 ]
- NPR reports the prize was awarded to three scientists working on how the brain switches individual nerve cells on and off. [ 2 ]
- The Boston Globe publishes its account, noting laureate Karl Deisseroth is a Boston native. [ 3 ]