Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 7, 2024 • Article History

The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine is awarded, according to the will of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel, “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” in the fields of physiology or medicine. It is conferred by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The table provides a list of winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Nobel Prize winners by category (physiology or medicine)
year	name	country*	achievement
*Nationality given is the citizenship of recipient at the time award was made. Prizes may be withheld or not awarded in years when no worthy recipient can be found or when the world situation (e.g., World Wars I and II) prevents the gathering of information needed to reach a decision.
1901	Emil von Behring	Germany	work on serum therapy
1902	Sir Ronald Ross	U.K.	discovery of how malaria enters an organism
1903	Niels Ryberg Finsen	Denmark	treatment of skin diseases with light
1904	Ivan Pavlov	Russia	work on the physiology of digestion
1905	Robert Koch	Germany	tuberculosis research
1906	Camillo Golgi	Italy	work on the structure of the nervous system
1906	Santiago Ramón y Cajal	Spain	work on the structure of the nervous system
1907	Alphonse Laveran	France	discovery of the role of protozoans in diseases
1908	Paul Ehrlich	Germany	work on immunity
1908	Élie Metchnikoff	Russia	work on immunity
1909	Emil Theodor Kocher	Switzerland	physiology, pathology, and surgery of the thyroid gland
1910	Albrecht Kossel	Germany	researches in cellular chemistry
1911	Allvar Gullstrand	Sweden	work on dioptrics of the eye
1912	Alexis Carrel	France	work on vascular suture; transplantation of organs
1913	Charles Richet	France	work on anaphylaxis
1914	Robert Bárány	Austria-Hungary	work on vestibular apparatus
1919	Jules Bordet	Belgium	work on immunity factors in blood serum
1920	August Krogh	Denmark	discovery of the capillary motor-regulating mechanism
1922	A.V. Hill	U.K.	discoveries concerning heat production in muscles
1922	Otto Meyerhof	Germany	work on metabolism of lactic acid in muscles
1923	Sir Frederick Grant Banting	Canada	discovery of insulin
1923	J.J.R. Macleod	U.K.	discovery of insulin
1924	Willem Einthoven	Netherlands	discovery of electrocardiogram mechanism
1926	Johannes Fibiger	Denmark	contributions to cancer research
1927	Julius Wagner-Jauregg	Austria	work on malaria inoculation in dementia paralytica
1928	Charles-Jules-Henri Nicolle	France	work on typhus
1929	Christiaan Eijkman	Netherlands	discovery of the antineuritic vitamin
1929	Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins	U.K.	discovery of growth-stimulating vitamins
1930	Karl Landsteiner	U.S.	discovery of human blood groups
1931	Otto Warburg	Germany	discovery of the nature and action of the respiratory enzyme
1932	Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian	U.K.	discoveries regarding function of neurons
1932	Sir Charles Scott Sherrington	U.K.	discoveries regarding function of neurons
1933	Thomas Hunt Morgan	U.S.	heredity transmission functions of chromosomes
1934	George Richards Minot	U.S.	discoveries concerning liver treatment for anemia
	William P. Murphy	U.S.	discoveries concerning liver treatment for anemia
	George H. Whipple	U.S.	discoveries concerning liver treatment for anemia
1935	Hans Spemann	Germany	organizer effect in embryos
1936	Sir Henry Dale	U.K.	work on chemical transmission of nerve impulses
1936	Otto Loewi	Germany	work on chemical transmission of nerve impulses
1937	Albert Szent-Györgyi	Hungary	work on biological combustion
1938	Corneille Heymans	Belgium	discovery of the role of sinus and aortic mechanisms in respiration regulation
1939	Gerhard Domagk (declined)	Germany	antibacterial effect of Prontosil
1943	Henrik Dam	Denmark	discovery of vitamin K
1943	Edward Adelbert Doisy	U.S.	discovery of the chemical nature of vitamin K
1944	Joseph Erlanger	U.S.	researches on differentiated functions of nerve fibres
1944	Herbert Spencer Gasser	U.S.	researches on differentiated functions of nerve fibres
1945	Sir Ernst Boris Chain	U.K.	discovery of penicillin and its curative value
	Sir Alexander Fleming	U.K.	discovery of penicillin and its curative value
	Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey	Australia	discovery of penicillin and its curative value
1946	Hermann Joseph Muller	U.S.	production of mutations by X-radiation
1947	Carl and Gerty Cori	U.S.	discovery of how glycogen is catalytically converted
1947	Bernardo Alberto Houssay	Argentina	pituitary hormone function in sugar metabolism
1948	Paul Hermann Müller	Switzerland	properties of DDT
1949	António Egas Moniz	Portugal	therapeutic value of leucotomy in psychoses
1949	Walter Rudolf Hess	Switzerland	discovery of functions of the interbrain
1950	Philip Showalter Hench	U.S.	research on adrenal cortex hormones, their structure and biological effects
	Edward Calvin Kendall	U.S.	research on adrenal cortex hormones, their structure and biological effects
	Tadeus Reichstein	Switzerland	research on adrenal cortex hormones, their structure and biological effects
1951	Max Theiler	South Africa	yellow fever discoveries
1952	Selman Abraham Waksman	U.S.	discovery of streptomycin
1953	Sir Hans Adolf Krebs	U.K.	discovery of the citric acid cycle in metabolism of carbohydrates
1953	Fritz Albert Lipmann	U.S.	discovery of coenzyme A in metabolism of carbohydrates
1954	John Franklin Enders	U.S.	cultivation of the poliomyelitis virus in tissue cultures
	Frederick Chapman Robbins	U.S.	cultivation of the poliomyelitis virus in tissue cultures
	Thomas H. Weller	U.S.	cultivation of the poliomyelitis virus in tissue cultures
1955	Axel Hugo Teodor Theorell	Sweden	nature and mode of action of oxidation enzymes
1956	André F. Cournand	U.S.	discoveries concerning heart catheterization and circulatory changes
	Werner Forssmann	West Germany	discoveries concerning heart catheterization and circulatory changes
	Dickinson Woodruff Richards	U.S.	discoveries concerning heart catheterization and circulatory changes
1957	Daniel Bovet	Italy	production of synthetic curare
1958	George Wells Beadle	U.S.	genetic regulation of chemical processes
	Joshua Lederberg	U.S.	genetic recombination
	Edward L. Tatum	U.S.	genetic regulation of chemical processes
1959	Arthur Kornberg	U.S.	work on producing nucleic acids artificially
1959	Severo Ochoa	U.S.	work on producing nucleic acids artificially
1960	Sir Macfarlane Burnet	Australia	acquired immunity to tissue transplants
1960	Sir Peter B. Medawar	U.K.	acquired immunity to tissue transplants
1961	Georg von Békésy	U.S.	functions of the inner ear
1962	Francis Harry Compton Crick	U.K.	discoveries concerning the molecular structure of DNA
	James Dewey Watson	U.S.	discoveries concerning the molecular structure of DNA
	Maurice Wilkins	U.K.	discoveries concerning the molecular structure of DNA
1963	Sir John Carew Eccles	Australia	study of the transmission of impulses along a nerve fibre
	Sir Alan Hodgkin	U.K.	study of the transmission of impulses along a nerve fibre
	Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley	U.K.	study of the transmission of impulses along a nerve fibre
1964	Konrad Bloch	U.S.	discoveries concerning cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism
1964	Feodor Lynen	West Germany	discoveries concerning cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism
1965	François Jacob	France	discoveries concerning regulatory activities of body cells
	André Lwoff	France	discoveries concerning regulatory activities of body cells
	Jacques Monod	France	discoveries concerning regulatory activities of body cells
1966	Charles B. Huggins	U.S.	research on causes and treatment of cancer
1966	Peyton Rous	U.S.	research on causes and treatment of cancer
1967	Ragnar Arthur Granit	Sweden	discoveries about chemical and physiological visual processes in the eye
	Haldan Keffer Hartline	U.S.	discoveries about chemical and physiological visual processes in the eye
	George Wald	U.S.	discoveries about chemical and physiological visual processes in the eye
1968	Robert William Holley	U.S.	deciphering the genetic code
	Har Gobind Khorana	U.S.	deciphering the genetic code
	Marshall Warren Nirenberg	U.S.	deciphering the genetic code
1969	Max Delbrück	U.S.	research and discoveries concerning viruses and viral diseases
	A.D. Hershey	U.S.	research and discoveries concerning viruses and viral diseases
	Salvador Luria	U.S.	research and discoveries concerning viruses and viral diseases
1970	Julius Axelrod	U.S.	discoveries concerning the chemistry of nerve impulse transmission
	Ulf von Euler	Sweden	discoveries concerning the chemistry of nerve impulse transmission
	Sir Bernard Katz	U.K.	discoveries concerning the chemistry of nerve impulse transmission
1971	Earl W. Sutherland, Jr.	U.S.	action of hormones
1972	Gerald Maurice Edelman	U.S.	research on the chemical structure of antibodies
1972	Rodney Robert Porter	U.K.	research on the chemical structure of antibodies
1973	Karl von Frisch	Austria	discoveries in animal behaviour patterns
	Konrad Lorenz	Austria	discoveries in animal behaviour patterns
	Nikolaas Tinbergen	U.K.	discoveries in animal behaviour patterns
1974	Albert Claude	U.S.	research on structural and functional organization of cells
	Christian René de Duve	Belgium	research on structural and functional organization of cells
	George E. Palade	U.S.	research on structural and functional organization of cells
1975	David Baltimore	U.S.	interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell
	Renato Dulbecco	U.S.	interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell
	Howard Martin Temin	U.S.	interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell
1976	Baruch S. Blumberg	U.S.	studies of the origin and spread of infectious diseases
1976	D. Carleton Gajdusek	U.S.	studies of the origin and spread of infectious diseases
1977	Roger Charles Louis Guillemin	U.S.	research on pituitary hormones
	Andrew Victor Schally	U.S.	research on pituitary hormones
	Rosalyn S. Yalow	U.S.	development of radioimmunoassay
1978	Werner Arber	Switzerland	discovery and application of enzymes that fragment DNA
	Daniel Nathans	U.S.	discovery and application of enzymes that fragment DNA
	Hamilton Othanel Smith	U.S.	discovery and application of enzymes that fragment DNA
1979	Allan MacLeod Cormack	U.S.	development of the CAT scan
1979	Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield	U.K.	development of the CAT scan
1980	Baruj Benacerraf	U.S.	investigations of genetic control of the response of the immune system to foreign substances
	Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset	France	investigations of genetic control of the response of the immune system to foreign substances
	George Davis Snell	U.S.	investigations of genetic control of the response of the immune system to foreign substances
1981	David Hunter Hubel	U.S.	processing of visual information by the brain
	Roger Wolcott Sperry	U.S.	functions of the cerebral hemispheres
	Torsten Nils Wiesel	Sweden	processing of visual information by the brain
1982	Sune K. Bergström	Sweden	biochemistry and physiology of prostaglandins
	Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson	Sweden	biochemistry and physiology of prostaglandins
	John Robert Vane	U.K.	biochemistry and physiology of prostaglandins
1983	Barbara McClintock	U.S.	discovery of mobile plant genes that affect heredity
1984	Niels K. Jerne	U.K.-Denmark	theory and development of a technique for producing monoclonal antibodies
	Georges J.F. Köhler	West Germany	theory and development of a technique for producing monoclonal antibodies
	César Milstein	Argentina	theory and development of a technique for producing monoclonal antibodies
1985	Michael S. Brown	U.S.	discovery of cell receptors relating to cholesterol metabolism
1985	Joseph L. Goldstein	U.S.	discovery of cell receptors relating to cholesterol metabolism
1986	Stanley Cohen	U.S.	discovery of chemical agents that help regulate the growth of cells
1986	Rita Levi-Montalcini	Italy	discovery of chemical agents that help regulate the growth of cells
1987	Tonegawa Susumu	Japan	study of genetic aspects of antibodies
1988	Sir James Black	U.K.	development of new classes of drugs for combating disease
	Gertrude Belle Elion	U.S.	development of new classes of drugs for combating disease
	George Herbert Hitchings	U.S.	development of new classes of drugs for combating disease
1989	J. Michael Bishop	U.S.	study of cancer-causing genes (oncogenes)
1989	Harold Varmus	U.S.	study of cancer-causing genes (oncogenes)
1990	Joseph E. Murray	U.S.	development of kidney and bone marrow transplants
1990	E. Donnall Thomas	U.S.	development of kidney and bone marrow transplants
1991	Erwin Neher	Germany	discovery of how cells communicate, as related to diseases
1991	Bert Sakmann	Germany	discovery of how cells communicate, as related to diseases
1992	Edmond H. Fischer	U.S.	discovery of the class of enzymes called protein kinases
1992	Edwin Gerhard Krebs	U.S.	discovery of the class of enzymes called protein kinases
1993	Richard J. Roberts	U.K.	discovery of "split," or interrupted, genetic structure
1993	Phillip A. Sharp	U.S.	discovery of "split," or interrupted, genetic structure
1994	Alfred G. Gilman	U.S.	discovery of cell signalers called G-proteins
1994	Martin Rodbell	U.S.	discovery of cell signalers called G-proteins
1995	Edward B. Lewis	U.S.	identification of genes that control the body's early structural development
	Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard	Germany	identification of genes that control the body's early structural development
	Eric F. Wieschaus	U.S.	identification of genes that control the body's early structural development
1996	Peter C. Doherty	Australia	discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells
1996	Rolf M. Zinkernagel	Switzerland	discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells
1997	Stanley B. Prusiner	U.S.	discovery of the prion, a type of disease-causing protein
1998	Robert F. Furchgott	U.S.	discovery that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system
	Louis J. Ignarro	U.S.	discovery that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system
	Ferid Murad	U.S.	discovery that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system
1999	Günter Blobel	U.S.	discovery that proteins have signals governing cellular organization
2000	Arvid Carlsson	Sweden	discovery of how signals are transmitted between nerve cells in the brain
	Paul Greengard	U.S.	discovery of how signals are transmitted between nerve cells in the brain
	Eric Kandel	U.S.	discovery of how signals are transmitted between nerve cells in the brain
2001	Leland H. Hartwell	U.S.	discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle
	R. Timothy Hunt	U.K.	discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle
	Sir Paul M. Nurse	U.K.	discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle
2002	Sydney Brenner	U.K.	discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death (apoptosis)
	H. Robert Horvitz	U.S.	discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death (apoptosis)
	John E. Sulston	U.K.	discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death (apoptosis)
2003	Paul Lauterbur	U.S.	development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
2003	Sir Peter Mansfield	U.K.	development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
2004	Richard Axel	U.S.	discovery of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system
2004	Linda B. Buck	U.S.	discovery of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system
2005	Barry J. Marshall	Australia	discovery of bacteria's role in peptic ulcer disease
2005	J. Robin Warren	Australia	discovery of bacteria's role in peptic ulcer disease
2006	Andrew Z. Fire	U.S.	discovery of RNA interference—gene silencing by double-stranded RNA
2006	Craig C. Mello	U.S.	discovery of RNA interference—gene silencing by double-stranded RNA
2007	Mario R. Capecchi	U.S.	discovery of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells
	Sir Martin J. Evans	U.K.	discovery of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells
	Oliver Smithies	U.S.	discovery of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells
2008	Françoise Barré-Sinoussi	France	discovery of human immunodeficiency virus
	Luc Montagnier	France	discovery of human immunodeficiency virus
	Harald zur Hausen	Germany	discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer
2009	Elizabeth H. Blackburn	U.S.	discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase
	Carol W. Greider	U.S.	discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase
	Jack W. Szostak	U.S.	discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase
2010	Robert Edwards	U.K.	development of in vitro fertilization
2011	Bruce A. Beutler	U.S.	discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity
	Jules A. Hoffmann	Luxembourg/France	discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity
	Ralph M. Steinman	Canada	discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity
2012	Sir John Bertrand Gurdon	U.K.	discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent
2012	Shinya Yamanaka	Japan	discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent
2013	James E. Rothman	U.S.	discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in cells
	Randy W. Schekman	U.S.	discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in cells
	Thomas C. Südhof	Germany/U.S.	discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in cells
2014	Edvard I. Moser	Norway	discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain
	May-Britt Moser	Norway	discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain
	John O'Keefe	U.S./U.K.	discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain
2015	William C. Campbell	Ireland	discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites
	Ōmura Satoshi	Japan	discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites
	Tu Youyou	China	discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria
2016	Yoshinori Ohsumi	Japan	discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy
2017	Jeffrey C. Hall	U.S.	discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm
	Michael Rosbash	U.S.	discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm
	Michael W. Young	U.S.	discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm
2018	James P. Allison	U.S.	discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation
2018	Honjo Tasuku	Japan	discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation
2019	William G. Kaelin, Jr.	U.S.	discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability
	Peter J. Ratcliffe	U.K.	discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability
	Gregg L. Semenza	U.S.	discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability
2020	Harvey J. Alter	U.S.	discovery of hepatitis C virus
	Michael Houghton	U.K.	discovery of hepatitis C virus
	Charles M. Rice	U.S.	discovery of hepatitis C virus
2021	David Julius	U.S.	discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch
2021	Ardem Patapoutian	Leb./U.S.	discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch
2022	Svante Pääbo	Sweden	discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution
2023	Katalin Karikó	Hungary/U.S.	discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
2023	Drew Weissman	U.S.	discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
2024	Victor Ambros	U.S.	discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation
2024	Gary Ruvkun	U.S.	discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.