California Scientist Wins Nobel Prize, Then Prepares School Lunches for Kids
Dr. Karl Deisseroth wins Nobel Prize in medicine for brain research, then returns to everyday life making school lunches for his children.
POLICY WIRE — Stanford, California — Dr. Karl Deisseroth, a Stanford University professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking work in optogenetics, a field that uses light to study brain activity.
Deisseroth, who shared the prize with German researchers Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, was in the middle of the night fielding congratulatory calls when he received the news. After a brief moment of disbelief, he quickly returned to his routine, preparing school lunches for his children while still engaging with journalists and colleagues.
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The Nobel Assembly praised the scientists for developing a tool that has revolutionized the understanding of how the brain functions. Deisseroth, a psychiatrist and basic scientist, emphasized the importance of his work in advancing treatments for neurological conditions such as autism and depression.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
