Anders Jahre Senior Medical Prize 2026 is awarded to Professor Ole Kiehn, Karolinska Institutet and University of Copenhagen. Professor Kiehn receives the main Jahre prize for his groundbreaking discoveries on the organisation of and the function of neural circuits that control movements. These are findings of great significance for the treatment of disorders such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Kiehn has worked on how the brain controls movements. He has made fundamental discoveries on how neuronal circuits function to choose, maintain, adjust and terminate the many movements of our body.
His works have demonstrated how the circuits in the spinal cord and brain stem are organised and how the interplay between the brain and the spinal cord functions.
Ole Kiehn’s discoveries have impact on how we understand and will be able to treat movement disorders like ALS and Parkinson’s disease as well as spasticity that can occur after injuries of the spinal cord.
“It came as a great surprise when I received the call about the Jahre Prize. I am deeply honoured, happy, and proud to receive this award. It means a great deal to me because it celebrates curiosity-driven science in the field I represent,” says Professor Ole Kiehn , Department of Neuroscience , KI. “It is a major recognition of the motor field, of the insights it has provided into how the nervous system functions and creates complex behaviour, and of the many people whose contributions have made this work possible.”
The Anders Jahre Prize for Young Scientists goes to Heidi Haikala, University of Helsinki and Tampere University, and Chloé B. Steen, Oslo University Hospital and the University of Oslo.
“My warmest congratulations to all the winners on receiving this important and prestigious Nordic medical prize! Kiehn, Haikala, and Steen have all made an impressive contribution within their respective fields. Their research findings will have great significance for the prevention and treatment of diseases that affect a very large number of people,” says Ragnhild Hennum , rector of the University of Oslo .
The Anders Jahre Awards for Medical Research 2026 will be awarded on 5 November at the University of Oslo.
The news article is based on a press release from the University of Oslo.
