Georg Nagel

[2] In 2003, Nagel showed the functionality of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in a mammalian cell line, where illumination with blue light caused a strong depolarization of the membrane potential.

[3] Following this proof-of-principle publication, ChR2 was expressed in hippocampal neurons in collaboration with Karl Deisseroth, where light pulses caused action potentials with high temporal precision.

[5] The first successful optogenetic inhibition of neuronal spiking (2007) was based on Nagel's earlier experiments with halorhodopsin from Natronomonas pharaonis.

[7] In 2015, Georg Nagel and Shiqiang Gao, together with Alexander Gottschalk's group, characterized the first 8 TM enzyme rhodopsin, Cyclop, which raises the concentration of cGMP when activated with light.

[8] Through the development of genetically encoded tools, Georg Nagel's group has pushed the boundaries of optical control from ion channels and pumps to second messenger systems, and has applied them to many different types of organisms, including plants.