Nobel Prize in medicine 2026 awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their development of optogenetics.

The Nobel Assembly announced the decision on Monday morning, launching a week of prestigious science awards. The three researchers were honoured for pioneering a technique that uses light to control the behaviour of living cells, particularly neurons. The technology has transformed brain research, allowing scientists to study neurological disorders and brain circuits with unprecedented precision.

The trio succeed last year's winners, Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi, who were recognised in 2025 for their discoveries regarding how the human body keeps its immune system in check.

When are the next awards?

With the medicine prize announced, the focus now shifts to the remaining scientific categories. The Nobel Prize in Physics is scheduled for Tuesday, followed by the Chemistry prize on Wednesday, 7 October.

Speculation around the chemistry prize is already running high. A panel of experts convened by the American Chemical Society (ACS) highlighted several major discoveries that could be honoured this year.

Who are the chemistry contenders?

Next-generation DNA sequencing is widely seen as a leading contender. Panelists Ross King of the University of Cambridge and Chaochao Dun of the University at Buffalo both predicted that sequencing pioneers Sir Shankar Balasubramanian and Sir David Klenerman would be named. While King suggested Hagan Bayley could share the prize, Dun tipped Pascal Mayer as the third winner.

Other experts are pointing toward sustainable energy and materials science. Dun put forward Tsutomu Miyasaka, Nam-Gyu Park and Henry Snaith for their work on perovskite solar cells.

Amy Prieto of Colorado State University nominated two other groups: Harry B. Gray and Jay Winkler for studying how electrons move long distances through proteins, and David L. Allara, Ralph G. Nuzzo and Jacob Sagiv for their work on self-assembled monolayers. All five researchers were recently added to the 2026 prediction list compiled by Clarivate, a firm that tracks scientific citations.

In a poll of readers by the ACS publication Chemical & Engineering News, biochemist Chi-Huey Wong emerged as the favourite for his work on carbohydrate synthesis. Other reader nominations included Patrick Holland, who works on inexpensive catalysts, and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, who invented a widely used polymerization technique.

David Pendlebury, head of research analysis at Clarivate's Institute for Scientific Information, said he believes a prize for a technical or practical invention is highly likely. He noted that enough time has now passed for these technologies to prove their long-term value to society.