Breaking the news to his kids (Instagram)
A memorable moment captured on video On October 5, 2026, Deisseroth was named one of the three recipients of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Deisseroth first shared the news with his daughters, Sophie, 10, and Emma, 13, according to Stanford. Then he goes to his 16-year-old son Hudson’s room and breaks the happy news. His eldest son, Alexander, 18, was already at Stanford and later cycled home after hearing the news.
The Nobel news arrives at home Nobel winner (Instagram) Deisseroth, a Stanford University professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was reportedly working late when he received the call from Stockholm informing him that he had won the prize. You don’t win a Nobel Prize everyday. It is meant to be a historical event and such an announcement is usually associated with grand celebrations, flashing cameras and congratulations from across the globe. But not for American neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth. He celebrated his most historic day and one of the most memorable moments of his Nobel morning in his family’s living room with his kids and wife. The video of the heartwarming moment went viral as soon as it was shared on Instagram and other social media platforms. Hours later, a video of him telling his children the news began attracting widespread attention online. In the clip, shared by Stanford University, the scientist stands at home and breaks the extraordinary news to his children. Their reactions are winning the world. They all can be seen screaming in disbelief, followed by happy laughs and heartfelt hugs. He later described being so surprised that he temporarily struggled to speak. His wife, Stanford physician-scientist Michelle Monje-Deisseroth, was also with him. The family’s living room, filled with books and family photographs, then became the setting for one of the most intimate moments. The girls can be seen running to their scientist dad and hugging him with unmistakable excitement. He also hugs his father and they shake hands. Father and kids bond
That might just be the most wholesome Nobel Prize announcement of 2026. When he tells Hudson that he had received a call saying he had won the Nobel Prize, the teenager initially appears unable to process what he had heard before embracing his father. The video is not being seen as a scientist receiving one of the world’s most prestigious honours, but people see a father telling his children the most extraordinary news of his life. His son’s reaction was quite spontaneous. From Nobel Prize winner to making school lunches Packing lunch for his kids (Instagram) The Nobel Prize announcement may have changed Deisseroth’s place in scientific history, but the video suggests that, inside his home, behind all his scientist’s brain, he was still a simple ‘Dad’ to his kids. His children did not react with rehearsed congratulations. They were surprised, they hugged him, shouted in excitement and appeared genuinely happy. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.
Deisseroth shares the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. Even after receiving a Nobel Prize, speaking to reporters and dealing with a stream of calls and congratulations, Deisseroth still had a very ordinary parental responsibility waiting for him: preparing lunches for his children. Him standing in his kitchen and preparing sandwiches for his children is the most basic thing parents are expected to do everyday. But soon after winning a Nobel, and still doing the parenting chores, now that’s exactly why the story reached the masses. It is this ordinariness that has made the story so relatable. For a few hours, Deisseroth was simultaneously a Nobel laureate and a parent trying to get children ready for school. What did Karl Deisseroth win the Nobel Prize for? Behind the emotional family video is a discovery that has transformed modern neuroscience. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet recognised them “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. A Nobel day that looked surprisingly normal With family
