WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Science Coalition (TSC) congratulates this year's Nobel laureates from two of its member institutions whose groundbreaking discoveries have advanced our understanding of the human brain and the universe.
The honorees from TSC member institutions include Stanford Medicine’s Karl Deisseroth and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Francis Halzen. Federal investments through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) helped support the pioneering research efforts of both distinguished professors.
“The Nobel Prizes awarded to Dr. Deisseroth and Dr. Halzen demonstrate the incredible returns generated by our nation's long-term investment in fundamental scientific research,” said Jake Dowd, President of The Science Coalition. “Sustained support from NIH and NSF enabled both researchers to pursue bold ideas over many years, ultimately leading to discoveries that have transformed neuroscience and astronomy. Their achievements underscore why continued federal funding for scientific research is essential to advancing knowledge, innovation, and American leadership.”
Stanford Medicine: Karl Deisseroth
Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford Medicine, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, shares the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Humboldt University of Berlin’s Peter Hegemann and the University of Würzburg’s Georg Nagel for their discoveries around light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The novel technique of optogenetics allows researchers to switch individual nerve cells on and off with light, giving scientists an unprecedented way to link specific brain circuits to behavior and to probe the roots of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
See here to learn more about Dr. Deisseroth's research.
University of Wisconsin–Madison: Francis Halzen
Francis Halzen, Vilas Research Professor and Gregory Breit Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. Dr. Halzen first proposed capturing neutrinos in the Antarctic ice in 1988 and leads IceCube, a cubic-kilometer detector at the South Pole. In 2013, the observatory recorded the first high-energy neutrinos from beyond our solar system, opening a new window into black holes, galaxies, and other cosmic phenomena.
See here to learn more about Dr. Halzen's research.
About The Science Coalition (TSC)
The Science Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of more than 40 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research to stimulate the economy, spur innovation, and drive America’s global competitiveness. Learn more at www.sciencecoalition.org.
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