Rita Levi-Montalcini

Biography

Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012) was an Italian neurobiologist whose groundbreaking research on nerve growth factor transformed the understanding of the nervous system and won her the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Born in Turin on April 22, 1909, she studied medicine at the University of Turin despite facing significant challenges, such as anti-Semitic laws that limited Jewish involvement in academia and professional fields during the Fascist era. Determined to keep pursuing science, she set up a makeshift lab in her bedroom during World War II, conducting experiments on chick embryos that later became essential to her Nobel Prize-winning findings. After the war, Levi-Montalcini advanced her career through work with top scientists, especially her collaboration with Stanley Cohen at Washington University in St. Louis. Together, they discovered and detailed nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein crucial for the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells. This discovery opened new paths for understanding neurological diseases and possible treatments. Beyond her scientific work, Levi-Montalcini was a public intellectual and advocate for education and women's rights. In 2001, she became a senator for life in the Italian Senate, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to science and society. She continued her research and advocacy well into her later years, becoming the first Nobel laureate to live to 100 in 2009. Her long life and ongoing intellectual activity made her a symbol of dedication to science and lifelong learning until her death in Rome on December 30, 2012.