2026 Nobel Prize—Where Breakthroughs Meet Open Science
Each October, the Nobel Prizes turn the world’s attention toward the discoveries that have redrawn the boundaries of science. They are science’s most prestigious recognition, and, increasingly, its most interdisciplinary. Recent laureates have been honored for work spanning quantum dots, machine learning, and molecular medicine, fields that rarely stay within a single discipline’s borders for long.
Open access has a growing role in that story. To date, more than 40 Nobel laureates have published their research in MDPI journals—a body of work spanning genetics, physics, chemistry, and medicine. Publishing openly means a laureate’s findings reach not only fellow scientists, but the students, clinicians, policymakers, and curious readers who would otherwise meet that work only through secondhand means, if at all. Open access doesn’t just carry Nobel-level research, it amplifies the voice behind it, letting the discovery speak directly to everyone it stands to affect.
This is also where MDPI’s breadth becomes an advantage. With over 500 journals covering the full spectrum of scientific inquiry, our platform mirrors the reality of modern discovery—where breakthroughs increasingly emerge at the intersection of fields, not within the walls of one. It’s this structure that lets us support interdisciplinary work from first submission to global publication, connecting researchers across borders and disciplines alike.
As this year’s laureates are announced, we’ll continue spotlighting where Nobel Prize-winning research intersects with the work of our authors, editors, and reviewers—celebrating both the achievements being recognized and the open access model that helps ensure they reach the widest possible audience.
Explore selected works by Nobel laureates within the MDPI portfolio below, and join us in celebrating the global impact of their ideas.
We extend our warmest congratulations to the distinguished scholars honored with the 2026 Nobel Prizes who have shared their groundbreaking research through MDPI open access journals:
- 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Awarded to MDPI’s author Prof. Kenso Soai for his visionary discoveries in homochirality and asymmetric autocatalysis, highlighted in his high-impact review published in Symmetry. Read the announcement here.
- 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Awarded to MDPI’s authors Prof. Peter Hegemann and Prof. Georg Nagel for their landmark discoveries in light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. Both laureates have published multiple key studies on rhodopsins and optogenetic tools across MDPI journals including IJMS, Bioengineering, and Membranes. Read the announcement here.
Their remarkable achievements exemplify the power of open science in accelerating global scientific progress and inspiring the next generation of researchers.
On 15 September, MDPI launched the 2026 Nobel Prize Prediction, inviting the global research community to forecast the laureates in three categories: “Physiology or Medicine”, “Physics” and “Chemistry”. The response was overwhelming—we received more than 100 submissions from researchers, academics, and science enthusiasts around the world.
After carefully comparing all predictions with the official Nobel Prize announcements, we are delighted to announce the six winners. Each of them correctly predicted the research area, the laureate, or both in at least one category, or named a research area closely related to the winning one.
Winners:
- Gioacchino Ranucci, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Italy;
- Nicola Rossi, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Italy;
- Xiwen Zhang, Hunan Agricultural University, China;
- Guohua Yin, Qilu Institute of Technology, China;
- Bryan John Subong, Hirotsu Bio Science Inc., Japan;
- Nikodem Szala-Jagiełło, Poland.
Each of them will receive a CHF 100 voucher for the MDPI Video Service to support their research communication and outreach.
We extend our warmest congratulations to all six winners, and our sincere thanks to everyone who took part. Your engagement made this campaign a true celebration of scientific discovery and open science.
MDPI will continue to champion breakthroughs and make knowledge accessible to all.
Discover high-impact research driving tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Browse our open access selections in Chemistry & Materials Science, Medicine & Pharmacology, and Physical Sciences, featuring key studies aligned with this year’s top Nobel prize-contending topics.
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Join our distinguished Editors-in-Chief and Section Editors-in-Chief for an exclusive live discussion on this year’s Nobel Prize announcements. Our expert panel will break down the winning breakthroughs, explore their global impact, and discuss the future trajectories of open science across chemistry, physics and medicine. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with leading voices in research.
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2026 Nobel Medicine & Pharmacology Roundtable |
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2026 Nobel Physics Roundtable |
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2026 Nobel Chemistry & Materials Roundtable 2026 Nobel Chemistry & Materials Roundtable Session #2 |