Karolinska Institutet
As one of the world’s foremost medical universities, KI accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical research conducted in Sweden. KI also offers the country’s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences.
The discovery sheds light on the brain’s mysteries: “There is a before and an after”
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries behind optogenetics, a method that makes it possible to switch nerve cells in the brain on and off using light. The technique has given researchers new tools to understand how specific nerve cells contribute to memories, emotions and behaviour.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 is awarded for optogenetics — a method that makes it possible to show how nerve cells shape memories, feelings and behaviours in the living brain. Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga. Karl Deisseroth transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells. The laureates have laid the foundation of a new era in neuroscience.
A warm welcome to KI’s new students
Ahead of the autumn term 2026, KI’s new students were welcomed with a week filled with inspiration, community and engagement. As early as the week before the start of term, new students had the opportunity to get to know both KI and each other through lectures, activities and meetings with different parts of student life.
From Italy to KI – Paolo wants to contribute to future cancer treatments
Paolo Ceriani has always been interested in science, but when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, that interest took a new direction. He wanted to understand the disease on a deeper level and later began studying Biomedicine at Karolinska Institutet. Before moving to Sweden, he had only visited the country once – on a road trip from Italy through northern Sweden.
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