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Nobel Medicine Prize 2026 Honors Optogenetics Pioneers, $4M Each

By Drooid · Oct 5, 2026, 2:04 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Optogenetics Trio Wins

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Medicine Prize for optogenetics.
The laureates will share 12 million Swedish kronor, about 4 million kronor each.
Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin in Chlamydomonas, a protein opened by blue light.
Karl Deisseroth introduced the gene into nerve cells, triggered signals with blue light, and proved method in mice by 2007.

Summary

Women Underrepresented

Only 14 of the 235 Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine have been women, showing persistent gender disparity.
The 2026 award marks the 117th presentation of the Medicine prize since its 1901 inception.
Alfred Nobel’s will created the prizes, which were interrupted only during World Wars I and II.
The economics prize was added in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank.

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Optogenetics Trio Wins

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Medicine Prize for optogenetics.
The laureates will share 12 million Swedish kronor, about 4 million kronor each.
Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin in Chlamydomonas, a protein opened by blue light.
Karl Deisseroth introduced the gene into nerve cells, triggered signals with blue light, and proved method in mice by 2007.

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