Karl Deisseroth
A Stanford psychiatrist and bioengineer who helped turn light-sensitive microbial proteins into tools for controlling selected neurons. His contribution connects molecular discovery with experiments on living neural circuits.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Selection, History and Research
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Selection, History and Research. Explore the context, source evidence and related Nobel Prize coverage.
Start with the awarding body and selection rules, then explore contributions and verified past recipients. The current-year discussion is kept on its own annual page.
Awarding body
Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
Selection process
The responsible prize body receives eligible nominations, evaluates the proposed contributions and decides the recipients. The rules and eligible nominators differ by field; a nomination is not a guarantee of selection.
NobelPrize.orgResearch and work
GLP-1 biology · optical imaging · optogenetics
2025 laureates
Mary E. Brunkow · Fred Ramsdell · Shimon Sakaguchi
Current nomination records are confidential for 50 years. An expert recommendation or a market listing does not establish an official nomination.
Read each source within its own scope. A name appearing in several lists is a useful observation, not a calculated chance of winning.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026Related reading
Peter Hegemann
A researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin whose studies of light-sensing algae helped uncover channelrhodopsins. He investigated how these proteins respond to light, laying a molecular foundation for optogenetics.
Georg Nagel
A biophysicist associated with the University of Würzburg who helped show that channelrhodopsins act as light-gated ion channels. His electrophysiological experiments linked algal proteins to controllable electrical activity in other cells.
Daniel J. Drucker
An endocrinology researcher whose work clarified the biological actions of GLP-1 and related gut hormones. His research helped connect basic hormone biology with medicines for metabolic disease.
Jens Juul Holst
A physiologist who studies how intestinal hormones regulate insulin secretion and metabolism. His experiments helped establish the activity of GLP-1 and its role in the gut–pancreas connection.
Svetlana Mojsov
A peptide chemist whose work identified the biologically active form of GLP-1 and enabled its synthesis and measurement. This contribution helped researchers test how the hormone stimulates insulin secretion.
Optogenetics
Optogenetics introduces light-sensitive proteins into selected cells so light can change their activity. This lets researchers test what a neural circuit does by perturbing it, rather than only observing it. A research tool’s success does not mean a treatment is ready for routine care.
GLP-1 research
GLP-1 is a gut hormone involved in glucose-dependent insulin secretion and other metabolic signals. Research on its active form and receptors helped enable medicines that mimic its action. The hormone, a drug and an individual treatment decision are different subjects.
Optical coherence tomography
Optical coherence tomography uses reflected light and interference to produce cross-sectional images of tissue. It can reveal structures such as retinal layers without cutting the tissue. Imaging structure is different from proving the cause of a disease.