Just two years after Rita graduated,
Benito Mussolini’s Manifesto of Race forbade Jews from practicing medicine. She
was forced to maintain a low profile during World War II. However, she didn’t
let this war get in the way of her research. She made her own research lab in
her home and studied the nerve growth in chicken embryos. After the war, Rita
re-entered the scientific community. She was invited to work at Washington
University in Saint Louis for one year, but she ended up staying for thirty
years as a professor and researcher. While Rita was studying tissue growth, she
discovered a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF helps maintain
healthy nerve growth. It also plays roles in the immune system, ovulation,
pancreatic cells, and even romantic love. The discovery of NGF helped
scientists better understand cell growth, cancer cells, and diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.
Rita was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
in physiology or medicine 1986, along with her research partner Stanley Cohen. In
2001, she became an Italian senator for life. She continued her research until
she died at 103. Rita experienced many hurdles throughout her life, but she
never once gave up on her love for medicine. Her hard work eventually paid off,
and she ended up contributing a great discovery about the nervous system. This
is only the tip of the iceberg. Rita did so much with her life. She spent
almost every minute trying to learn how to better humanity. Rita is a woman
worth looking up to, and she deserves to be recognized for her achievements.
Sources
“Women
in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World,” written and illustrated
by Rachel Ignotofsky.
Rita
Levi-Montalcini: http://www.famousscientists.org/rita-levi-montalcini/
I can't imagine spending all that time getting a degree and then being banned from practicing. Thank Buddha she kept going. The world needs more determined women, and maybe even men.
ReplyDeleteI love how she went above the standard for women at that time. She did not care about what other people said, and if they said she couldn't she did it anyway. I think it is awesome that she completed her own research in her own house when she was not allowed to practice medicine. It shows how much she actually cared and wanted to continue to learn.
ReplyDeleteIf I got my degree and then was forbidden to practice I don't know what I would do. It's inspiring that she pushed through being forbidden and did research in her own house, especially research that has had such an impact on further research done on the nervous system.
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