Karl Deisseroth

Karl Deisseroth
Karl Deisseroth
	Deisseroth in 2025
Born	November 18, 1971; Boston, Massachusetts, US
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA); Stanford University (MD–PhD)
Known for	Optogenetics and hydrogel-tissue chemistry (including CLARITY and STARmap)
Spouse	Michelle Monje
Awards	NAMedi (2010); NAS (2012); NAE (2019); W. Alden Spencer Award (2011); Keio Medical Science Prize (2014); Albany Medical Center Prize (2015); BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2015); Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2016); Kyoto Prize (2018); Heineken Prize (2020); Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2021); Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (2022); Japan Prize (2023)
	Scientific career
Fields	Neuroscience; psychiatry; bioengineering;
Institutions	Stanford University
Academic advisors	Richard Tsien, Robert Malenka
Doctoral students	Feng Zhang, Viviana Gradinaru
Other notable students	Edward Boyden, Kay Tye, Xiao Wang
Website	web.stanford.edu/group/dlab/index.html

Karl Alexander Deisseroth (born November 18, 1971) is an American scientist and physician. He is the D.H. Chen Foundation Professor of Bioengineering and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

He is known for developing the technologies of hydrogel-tissue chemistry (e.g., CLARITY and STARmap) and optogenetics, and for applying integrated optical and genetic strategies to study normal neural circuit function and dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric illnesses.

In 2019, Deisseroth was elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering for his discoveries and control of neuronal signals underlying animal behavior in health and disease, using molecular and optical tools. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Medicine.