Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian-American neurologist, discovered a protein that nerves need to grow, aptly named nerve growth factor. The work earned her and collaborator Stanley Cohen the 1986 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
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Calli McMurray is the Media & Science Writing Associate at SfN. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience.
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References
Rita Levi-Montalcini | Italian-American neurologist. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2020, from Encyclopedia Britannica website: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rita-Levi-Montalcini
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2020, from NobelPrize.org website: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1986/levi-montalcini/biographical/
