10/08/2026
Groundbreaking research on optogenetics wins the Nobel Prize in Medicine
Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann, both members of the Leopoldina, have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They share the prize with Georg Nagel for their discoveries of light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
Their research makes it possible to switch the activity of individual neurons in a living brain on or off, according to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The method is now used in laboratories around the world to understand how the brain forms memories, emotions and behaviours, the Institute said in its citation.
Bettina Rockenbach, President of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, congratulated the scientists on receiving this prestigious award: "This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognises pioneering discoveries in optogenetics.
These discoveries are helping us better understand neurological and psychiatric disorders and develop new therapeutic approaches-an example of excellent basic research being put to practical use. I am especially delighted that Georg Nagel and two Leopoldina members, Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann, are being recognised for their research. I warmly congratulate all the laureates."
Peter Hegemann, Professor of Experimental Biophysics at Humboldt University of Berlin, and Georg Nagel, Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at the University of Würzburg, discovered channelrhodopsins in algae. These light-sensitive proteins laid the foundation for the field of optogenetics. Using genetic engineering to insert these rhodopsins into the membranes of nerve cells makes it possible to control the cells with light.
For the first time, researchers could switch brain cells on and off from outside the body with precision. Optogenetics was developed on this basis, with Karl Deisseroth regarded as one of its co-founders. Deisseroth, Professor of Bioengineering and Psychiatry at Stanford University and a scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, USA, uses the technique to improve understanding of neurological disorders.
Optogenetics combines optical technology and genetics. Genetic instructions for channelrhodopsins are delivered into nerve cells using a virus. The proteins that are then produced act like a light switch, allowing nerve cells in the brain to be controlled from outside the body. Laboratories worldwide now use optogenetics to study neurological conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders and Parkinson's disease, as well as to investigate motivation, aggression and addictive behaviour.
Peter Hegemann has been a member of the Leopoldina since 2012, and Karl Deisseroth since 2014. Both scientists have received numerous awards for their research. Together with Georg Nagel, they received the 2013 Brain Prize. Both were also honoured with the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 2021. Peter Hegemann is also a recipient of the Leibniz Prize (2013), the Leopoldina's Mendel Medal (2017) and the Shaw Prize (2020). Karl Deisseroth has received, among other honours, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2016) and the Japan Prize (2023).
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is currently worth a total of 12 million Swedish kronor-approximately one million euros. Traditionally, all Nobel Prizes are presented to the laureates on 10 December, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, who established the prizes.
Source: National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina