Special Topic: 2026 Nobel Prize Outlook — Who Will Win the Economics Prize? Global intelligence service provider Clarivate announced the 2026 Citation Laureates list on the 29th, with 22 distinguished researchers selected whose achievements are of Nobel Prize caliber. The list was compiled by experts from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) under Clarivate, recognizing scholars whose groundbreaking contributions continue to shape science and society.

Since the program's inception, 89 Citation Laureates have subsequently gone on to win Nobel Prizes, with recipients typically receiving the Nobel several years after being named Citation Laureates. The foundational research papers of Citation Laureates rank among the most highly cited literature in their respective fields, demonstrating powerful influence that spans disciplines and borders.

This year's honorees have advanced human knowledge in multiple areas of major societal significance, including:

Physiology or Medicine: GLP-1 biology and obesity treatment, optical imaging, immune system research

Physics: High-performance OLED displays, energy-efficient computing materials, quantum electronics

Chemistry: Self-assembled nanomaterials, biological electron transfer, precision gene editing

Economics: Digital economy, monetary policy and central banking, organizational innovation and economic vitality

One of the most closely watched achievements this year is the scientific breakthrough underpinning GLP-1 drugs, with honorees Daniel J. Drucker, Jens Juul Holst, and Svetlana Mojsov. Their foundational discoveries led to the creation of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, which have fundamentally transformed treatment regimens for millions of diabetes and obesity patients worldwide while demonstrating therapeutic potential in an expanding range of disease areas.

The 2026 Citation Laureates are affiliated with leading academic institutions across 7 countries and regions, reflecting the globalized nature of Nobel-caliber research. The complete 2026 Citation Laureates list is as follows:

Physiology or Medicine

Daniel J. Drucker, Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health; Professor in the Department of Medicine's Division of Endocrinology at the University of Toronto, Banting and Best Diabetes Centre-Novo Nordisk Chair in Incretin Biology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jens Juul Holst, Professor of Medical Physiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Senior Group Leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Panum Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Svetlana Mojsov, Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein Research Professor, The Rockefeller University, New York City, New York, USA

Citation: For the identification and characterization of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) and investigation of its biological activity

James G. Fujimoto, Elihu Thomson Professor of Electrical Engineering, Research Laboratory of Electronics and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

David Huang, Research Director and Associate Director of the Casey Eye Institute; Wold Family Chair in Ophthalmic Imaging; Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA; Director of the Center for Ophthalmic Optics and Lasers (COOL Lab)

Eric A. Swanson, Affiliated Researcher at the Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Citation: For the invention of optical coherence tomography, providing an entirely new imaging approach for medicine, biomedical research, and other applications

Timothy A. Springer, Latham Family Professor, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Citation: For the discovery of key adhesion receptors of the immune system

Physics

Chihaya Adachi, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics Research (OPERA), Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Stephen R. Forrest, Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor, Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Mark E. Thompson, Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Citation: For pioneering research on phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), enabling the creation of ultra-high-efficiency organic light-emitting diode technology

Nicola A. Spaldin, Professor in the Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Citation: For foundational theoretical research that established the field of room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic materials, spawning entirely new energy-efficient device concepts

Chemistry

David L. Allara, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Materials Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

Ralph G. Nuzzo, G. L. Clark Research Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Professor of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

Jacob Sagiv, Professor in the Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Citation: For the development of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technology

Harry B. Gray, Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Jay R. Winkler, Beckman Institute Member and Associate Research Fellow in Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Citation: For deepening understanding of long-range electron transfer mechanisms within proteins

David R. Liu, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Richard Merkin Professor at the Broad Institute; Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Citation: For the development of precise gene editing technologies such as base editing and prime editing, which can directly edit DNA in living systems, revolutionizing the life sciences and enabling programmable medicines that can save lives

Economics

Susan C. Athey, Professor of Information Technology Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Hal R. Varian, Former Chief Economist at Google, Professor Emeritus at the School of Information, Haas School of Business, and Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Citation: For pioneering analysis of the economics of information technology

Michael D. Woodford, John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University, New York City, New York, USA

Citation: For contributions to monetary policy theory and practice

Sidney G. Winter, Deloitte and Touche Professor Emeritus of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Citation: For research on economic vitality and organizational behavior based on evolutionary theory

The Citation Laureates program does not aim to predict Nobel Prize winners in any given year; rather, it honors researchers whose achievements are of Nobel caliber and deserving of global attention.