Overview
- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced on Monday, October 5, 2026 that Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel will share the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- The committee credited Hegemann and Nagel with discovering channelrhodopsin, a light-gated ion channel in algae, and credited Deisseroth with introducing the channelrhodopsin gene into nerve cells to create optogenetics.
- The three laureates will split the prize sum of 12 million Swedish kronor, and the announcement at Karolinska Institutet also marked the start of this year’s Nobel Week of awards.
- Optogenetics uses light-sensitive rhodopsin proteins to open ion channels and let charged particles flow, which lets researchers activate or silence genetically targeted cells with millisecond precision to test how circuits drive behavior and disease.
- The technique is now a standard research tool worldwide and has driven new lab discoveries about memory, movement and mood while spawning early clinical exploration such as approaches to restore vision and treat epilepsy and movement disorders.