2026 Nobel Prizes Looming: Experts Forecast Likely Laureates Across Science Fields

The prestigious Nobel Prizes return next week, generating worldwide anticipation about which scientists and breakthroughs will claim the field’s highest honors. With the 2026 laureates to be announced between October 5 and 12, many observers turned to reader input for their own insights. The editor asked The Scientist contributors to submit their top predictions for this year’s prizes in Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry.

Ubagaramary Dhanasekaran, a chemist from Adhiymaan College of Engineering, predicts Emmanuel Mignot and Masashi Yanagisawa as favorites for the Physiology or Medicine prize. Their recent discovery of orexin and its central role in regulating sleep and wake cycles earned them the 2026 Lasker Basic Medical Research Award—a strong sign of their impact. Notably, these same researchers shared the 2023 Breakthrough Prize in Life Science.

Tiago Góss dos Santos, a tumor biologist at A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, anticipates that Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and John Eng may secure the Physiology or Medicine award. John Eng’s research, which explored a peptide hormone resembling glucagon‑like peptide‑1 (GLP‑1) in the venomous Gila monster’s saliva, laid groundwork for modern type 2 diabetes therapeutics.

A subsequent profile expands on the candidates. Dr. Karthik Mallikkannoor, a cell biologist at the University of Arizona, highlights Carl June’s transformative contribution to oncology via CAR‑T cell therapies. Meanwhile, Neharika Saxena, a veterinary public health scientist at Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, points to Hari Mohan Saxena’s innovative bacteriophage lysozyme immunotherapy for bovine brucellosis—and suggests it could redefine antimicrobial strategy against drug‑resistant pathogens.

Consultant fitness expert Arjit Ghosh casts his view on physics, naming John Pendry—condensed‑matter physicist at Imperial College London—for metamaterial and invisibility‑cloak research, while also noting potential breakthroughs in fundamental optics and quantum sensing.

In chemistry, biochemist Pieter Cullis and his colleagues at the University of British Columbia stand out; their lipid‑nanoparticle delivery platform enabled the manufacturing of mRNA vaccines. Complementing this outlook, Luís Ferreira Moita adds additional personal predictions for several disciplines.

1. James Fujimoto (MIT), David Huang (OHSU), and Eric Swanson are highlighted for advancing optical coherence tomography.
2. Svetlana Mojsov (Rockefeller University), Jens Juul Holst (University of Copenhagen), and Daniel Drucker (University of Toronto) are credited for GLP‑1‑based treatments that reshaped obesity care.
3. Max Cooper and Jacques Miller are recognized for uncovering distinct B‑ and T‑lymphocyte classes.
4. David Liu at Harvard leads the charge in CRISPR and gene‑editing science.

These teams echo earlier accolades: the MIT trio secured the 2023 Lasker DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, Daniel Drucker, Svetlana Mojsov, and Jens Holst later received the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Science, and immunologist Max Cameron along with emeritus professor Jacques Miller were honored with the 2019 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. David Liu continues to bridge biology and engineering through his breakthrough gene‑editing work.

The article concludes with a note that responses have been tightened for brevity and clarity.

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