The Lasker Foundation has awarded the 2026 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award to Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine and Masashi Yanagisawa, MD, PhD, of the University of Tsukuba for their discoveries involving orexin, a brain peptide that plays a critical role in maintaining wakefulness. Their research revealed that orexin deficiency is a key cause of narcolepsy, transforming our understanding of how sleep and wakefulness are regulated.
According to the Lasker Foundation, the two scientists arrived at the same biological pathway from different directions. Yanagisawa and colleagues identified orexin while studying previously unexplored signaling systems in the brain and demonstrated that the peptide helps keep animals awake. At the same time, Mignot was investigating the genetic causes of narcolepsy in dogs and traced the disorder to the same orexin signaling pathway. Together, their discoveries provided a molecular explanation for narcolepsy and opened a new field of sleep research.
“The recognition of Drs. Mignot and Yanagisawa by the Lasker Foundation highlights the profound impact that sleep science can have on human health,” said Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “Their discoveries advanced our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate wakefulness and continue to inform the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.”
The Lasker Awards honor scientists whose discoveries have made major contributions to medicine and human health. By uncovering the biological basis of wakefulness and narcolepsy, Mignot and Yanagisawa have advanced sleep medicine and laid the foundation for new therapeutic approaches to sleep disorders.
Readers interested in learning more about the scientific and clinical impact of orexin research can explore recent articles published in JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine.
