EU-funded researcher Peter Hegemann wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Peter Hegemann, who received two European Research Council (ERC) grants and participated in a Horizon 2020 Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) project, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly with Karl Deisseroth and Georg Nagel, for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.Their discoveries made it possible to control the activity of nerve cells using light, transforming how scientists investigate the brain and its functions.

Professor Hegemann, from Humboldt University of Berlin, received €2.4 million through an individual ERC Advanced Grant for the MERA - Mechanism of Enzyme Rhodopsin Activation project (2016-2021), which investigated how a light-sensitive protein functions and its potential applications in optogenetics.

He is also a grantee, together with two other researchers, in the ongoing SOL - Switchable rhodOpsins in Life Sciences project (2022-2028), supported by an ERC Synergy Grant with total EU funding of almost €8 million. The project aims to develop light-controlled molecular switches that provide new tools for investigating cellular functions.

Professor Hegemann also contributed to STARDUST project (2017-2022), which received €3.8 million in EU funding, divided between 10 participants, to investigate an ultrasonically powered implant combining optogenetics, electrophysiology and pharmacology for potential applications in Parkinson’s disease.

All three projects were funded under Horizon 2020, the predecessor to the EU’s current research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.

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