Rita Levi-Montalcini (April 22, 1909 – December 30, 2012) was an Italian neuroscientist. Along with her colleague Stanley Cohen, she discovered the “Nerve Growth Factor” (NGF) and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for this groundbreaking work.
NGF is currently being further researched for its potential therapeutic properties in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and in cell-related diseases like cancer.
Rita Levi-Montalcini was born into a Jewish family in Turin, Italy. She was determined to pursue a career in medicine from an early age and enrolled in the University of Turin’s medical school in 1930.
Rita Levi-Montalcini in the laboratory in 1959.
After graduating in 1936, her medical career was hindered by Benito Mussolini’s Racial Laws against Jews. She was forced to flee to Florence but returned home after the war.
The Levi-Montalcini family with four children. Rita is the girl on the far right.
In 1947, Rita accepted a position at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), working alongside zoologist Viktor Hamburger, who was studying the development of nervous tissue in chicken embryos.
A photo of Rita Levi-Montalcini at age 11.
While observing cancer tissues, Rita and Viktor discovered the effect of a substance in tumors, which they named the “Nerve Growth Factor” (NGF)—a crucial component in the development of nerve cells.
Portrait of scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini in 1975.
Stanley Cohen, her collaborator, later managed to isolate NGF from the tumor. Because of this research, both Rita and Stanley were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986.
Rita Levi-Montalcini on a vacation.
Rita founded the Institute of Cell Biology in Rome (Italy) in 1962, and in 1987, she was awarded the National Science Medal.
Scientist at age 98.
In 2001, she was appointed as a “Senator for Life” in the Italian Senate for her contributions to science in Italy and the world, despite the challenges and criticism she faced as a Jewish person.
Rita Levi-Montalcini at her 100th birthday party at the Rome City Hall, Italy, in 2009.
She passed away in 2012 at the age of 103 and is considered the longest-living Nobel laureate as of 2012. Rita is remembered to this day, and her name was given to a hybrid orchid in 2016 (Ophrys montalciniae).
The hybrid orchid “Ophrys montalciniae” named after scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini.
