1 | Name: | Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini | |
Institution: | European Brain Research Institute | ||
Year Elected: | 1986 | ||
Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | ||
Residency: | Resident | ||
Living? : | Deceased | ||
Birth Date: | 1909 | ||
Death Date: | December 30, 2012 | ||
Neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin, Italy and was a dual citizen of Italy and the United States. In 1986 she received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of the nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein molecule that enhances differentiative processes of the sensory and sympathetic neurons and may exert a modulatory role on neuro-immunoendocrine functions of vital importance in the regulation of homeostatic processes. Much of Dr. Levi-Montalcini's most important work was conducted over her three decades at Washington University in St. Louis. She also directed the Research Center of Neurobiology of the CNR (Rome) from 1961-69 and the Laboratory of Cellular Biology from 1969-78. Her many awards and honors include the National Medal of Science (1987) and a 2001 Senate-for-life nomination by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. In 1968 Dr. Levi-Montalcini became the tenth woman ever elected to the National Academy of Sciences. At age 98, she was the oldest living Nobel laureate. Rita Levi-Montalcini died December 30, 2012, at the age of 103, at her home in Rome, Italy. |