Optogenetics: Controlling Brain Cells with Light

The 2026 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine went to researchers Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work on optogenetics. Optogenetics is the technique of using genetically expressed light-sensitive proteins to control the activity of brain cells.

Join Upinder Singh Bhalla for a lecture tracing the story of how very basic research into the light responsiveness of a single-celled plant micro-organism led to the discovery of light-sensitive proteins that allow current to flow into a cell. Learn how this was then developed into a powerful tool for studying the brain, and possibly for therapeutic purposes in the future. Come discover the path of development of optogenetics, both as a triumph of basic science, and also as a way to tell the story of many people who contributed fundamentally but were left aside when the prizes rolled in.

This lecture is organised in collaboration with Infosys Science Foundation.