Ten Nobels for the future

Rita Levi Montalcini was born in 1909 in Turin (Italy), where she received her medical degree in 1936 and began her academic career as a researcher in neurobiology and psychiatry. In 1938 she was forced to leave the university after the promulgation of the Fascist racial laws but she persisted in her research by setting up a small laboratory in her home. From 1943 she resided, clandestinely, in Florence, and from 1944-1945 she aided Italian refugees as volunteer physician with the Allied Forces. After the war she was reinstated at the University of Turin and resumed her research there. In 1947 she was invited to Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), where she remained as Professor of Neurobiology until 1977, when she became Professor Emeritus.

Her first studies (1938-1944) were of the mechanisms controlling the development of the vertebrate nervous system. In 1951-1952 she discovered Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), a humoral factor which plays an essential role in the growth and differentiation of sensory and sympathetic nerve cells. She continued her research on this protein molecule and its functioning for some thirty years, and she was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine (with Stanley Cohen) in 1986. "The discovery of NGF in the beginning of the 1950’s is a fascinating example of how a skilled observer can create a concept out of apparent chaos. Until this time, experimental neurobiologists did not understand how the development of the nervous system was regulated to result in the final complete innervation of the body", said the press release of the Nobel Foundation.

From 1961 to 1969 she directed the Neurobiology Research Centre of the Italian National Research Council (Rome), in collaboration with the Institute of Biology of Washington University, and from 1969 the CNR Cellular Biology Laboratory. In 1979 she reached the official retirement age but continued her research as guest professor until 1989. From 1989 to 1995 she worked at the CNR Institute of Neurobiology in the position of Superexpert, testing new hypotheses on the action of NGF, using increasingly sophisticated techniques. Recent studies have shown that its range is broader than was first believed: it is not restricted to sensory and sympathetic neurons, but also extends to cells of the central nervous systems, the hematopoietic immune system, and cells involved in neuro-endocrine functions.

From1993 to 1998 she was President of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopaedia. She is also a member of the most prestigious scientific academies, including the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Pontifical Academy, the Accademia delle Scienze detta dei XL, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society.

Rita Levi Montalcini is the author of numerous scientific publications and four best-sellers: Elogio dell’Imperfezione (In Praise of Imperfection, Basic Books 1988, Italian edition Garzanti 1987), Il tuo futuro (Your Future, Italian edition Garzanti 1988), Senz’olio contro vento (No Oil Left, Upwind, Italian edition Baldini&Castoldi 1996), L’asso nella manica a brandelli (The Ace in the Tattered Sleeve, Italian edition Baldini&Castoldi 1998), La galassia mente (The Galaxy of the Mind, Italian edition Baldini&Castoldi 1999). Her latest book, Cantico di una vita (Canticle of a Life, Italian edition Raffaello Cortina Editore 2000) has been recently published. She is also an effective campaigner (the fight against landmines is one example) and has spoken out on the responsibility of scientists towards society.

In 1992 she created, together with her twin sister Paola, the Levi Montalcini Foundation, named in memory of their father. The Foundation is dedicated to helping young people find appropriate education and training, and it aims at fostering a dialogue among teachers and students on issues of peace, personal development, the values of culture, and the struggle against any kind of discrimination.

1993
The intrinsic
value of science:
regulation
but not repudiation

1995
Science
as a new humanism

1997
The two X chromosomes
on the eve
of the third millennium

1998
Innovation in Scientific Research

2000
New approaches
for a better world