Nobel Prize For Medicine:  American scientist Karl Deisseroth, along with German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control individual nerve cells in the brain. The Nobel laureates will share prize money of 12 million Swedish crowns, which is equal to USD 1.2 million.


Who Is Karl Deisseroth?

Karl Deisseroth, born on November 18, 1971, is an American scientist and physician. He serves as the DH Chen Foundation Professor of Bioengineering and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. He is known for developing powerful tools like CLARITY and optogenetics. Using light and special chemistry, these technologies help scientists to examine how brain cells work and how they control behavior.

Earlier in 2019, he was elected as a member of the US National Academy of Engineering for his discoveries and control of neuronal signals. Additionally, Karl is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Medicine.

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Karl Deisseroth's Family

Karl Deisseroth lives in California with his wife, Michelle Monje, and five children. Their blended family includes four children together and an older son from Deisseroth's previous marriage. Along with Karl, Michelle Monje is also a renowned physician-scientist and professor at Stanford University. She specialises in pediatric brain tumors and treats patients with aggressive, incurable brain tumors.

How Deisseroth's Family Reacted On Nobel Prize Win?

Celebrating the win, Stanford University shared a video capturing a wholesome moment where Karl woke his daughters and told them about the award. The girls hugged their father and screamed with happiness. Breaking the news to his 16-year-old son Hudson, he told him, "I just got a phone call this morning that I won the Nobel Prize." His elder son, Alexander, 18 who was already at the Stanford University, cycled back to home after getting to know what has happened.


What may seem like a grand day of celebration was a regular day for Karl Deisseroth. In the morning, he still had to make lunches for his three children. When asked about how he is planning to celebrate his Nobel Prize win, he answered very ordinarily, "Get back to work. We have a lot of things still to discover, and a lot of people to help."

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