Optogenetics trio wins the Nobel Prize in Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded jointly to three scientists for work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. They are Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel. Deisseroth is an American scientist at Stanford University. Hegemann and Nagel are German biophysicists.

Hegemann is at Humboldt University. Nagel is at the University of Wurzburg. The prize language cites discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The award is joint among the three.

Optogenetics is one of the two cited subjects. Light-gated ion channels are the other. The announcement presents those discoveries as the reason for the prize. Medicine is the Nobel field named.

Stanford University is the institution named for Deisseroth. Humboldt University is the institution named for Hegemann. The University of Wurzburg is the institution named for Nagel. The countries named are the United States for Deisseroth and Germany for the two biophysicists.

No fourth laureate was included. The three names are the full set in the announcement. The scientific terms are the ones in the citation. The prize is the medicine Nobel for 2026.

The recorded health-science award is that shared Nobel. The laureates are Deisseroth, Hegemann, and Nagel. The subject is optogenetics and light-gated ion channels. The institutions are Stanford, Humboldt, and Wurzburg.