June 10, 2026 ( Oslo, Norway ) Honoring groundbreaking scientific discovery, the recipients of The Kavli Prizes 2026 in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience are announced today by President Annelin Eriksen at The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway.
The discoveries honored in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience are challenging assumptions, encouraging scientists to explore new ideas and furthering our understanding of how the world works. From revealing how our brains can be so extremely efficient in learning, to uncovering the hidden collisions under the seemingly harmonious spiral of the Milky Way, to our ability to change the properties of materials just by giving them a twist. Each of the discoveries honored today helps to answer vital questions and reveal further areas for investigation.
The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience for 2026 is awarded to:
Christine Holt, Kelsey Martin, Erin Schuman and Oswald Steward
“for the discovery of local protein translation in neurons and establishing its importance for brain development and plasticity.”
10 scientists from three fields with 9 different nationalities and hailing from three continents are honored for their research that has broadened our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. The laureates in each field will share $1 million USD. They will be awarded The Kavli Prize in Oslo in September.
– Honoring these excellent scientists is not only a recognition of achievements, it is an investment in our shared future, affirming the curiosity, rigor, and courage that drive human progress, says Annelin Eriksen, President of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
The recipients of The Kavli Prize represent what is best in the scientific enterprise. Their work builds on one another, deepens our understanding of ourselves and the world we live in, and creates new opportunities for the next generation of theoreticians, investigators and inventors. The science honored today is already helping to lay the groundwork for a world of new opportunities in medicine, technology and our understanding of the universe.
New clues to memory – Brain cells produce proteins where they are needed
How can you learn something new in merely minutes? The brain’s brilliance lies not in its size, but in its highly decentralized, modular, and rapid self-sufficiency. The groundbreaking discovery of 'Local protein Translation' fundamentally rewrites our understanding of how neurons form and modify neuronal connections.
Local protein translation is the process by which cells make proteins directly at synapses, the locations where they will be needed, instead of making all proteins centrally in the cell body.
– These discoveries have helped us understand how the thousands of synapses hosted by a single brain cell can function independently and give rise to the information processing capability of neuronal networks. This year´s recipients challenged traditional views of how proteins are formed in neurons. Decades of work by the laureates uncovered that while the genetic code is in the nucleus of the cells, the proteins are made locally, near the synapses that connect the cells. These discoveries fundamentally alter the way we understand plasticity in brain cells and will have implications for studies of both neurological and psychiatric conditions, says Edvard Moser, Chair of The Kavli Prize Committee in Neuroscience.
Scientists long believed that proteins were only produced inside the cell body. This was a strong dogma until the 1990s. The new understanding driven by this year’s Kavli Prize recipients has changed our perception of how the brain works. In his science diary, Oswald Steward writes how he discovered in electron microscopy preparations that polyribosomes, machinery that enables protein synthesis, exists at the base of synapses, where cells make connections with each other.
Later, Erin Schuman showed that synaptic plasticity driven by growth factors required rapid and local protein synthesis. Her idea that extensions of a neuron, dendrites, could produce their own proteins was referred to as crazy at the time. Her discoveries were met with push-back, but then Kelsey Martin, Christine Holt and others backed her up.
Martin showed in a different system that strengthening of connections between neurons during learning requires protein synthesis local to the individually stimulated synapse.
Christine Holt discovered that nerve fibers in the developing brain can navigate towards chemical cues even without contact with the cell body, showing that the axonal branches of neurons have their own machinery for supplying new proteins.
The discovery that proteins can be produced directly where they are needed in the brain, is the core of this year´s Kavli Prize in neuroscience and offers tangible hope for the development of new methods to treat a wide spectrum of brain disorders.
More details available at www.kavliprize.org
About The Kavli Prize
Edvard Moser is Chair of The Kavli Prize Committee for Neuroscience
The Kavli Prize is a partnership among The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation (USA).
The Kavli Prize honors scientists for breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience that transform our understanding of the big, the small and the most complex.
A one-million-dollar prize is awarded every other year in each of the three fields.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters formally appoints the laureates based on recommendations from three independent selection committees whose members are nominated by The Chinese Academy of Sciences, The French Academy of Sciences, The Max Planck Society of Germany, The U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and The Royal Society, UK.
For more information, please contact:
Marina Tofting (Norway), The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
(+47) 938 66 312 marina.tofting@dnva.no
This year's Kavli Prize Laureates in Neuroscience are:
Christine Holt, University of Cambridge, UK
Kelsey Martin, Simons Foundation, US
Erin Schuman, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany
Oswald Steward, University of California Irvine, US