Rita Levi-Montalcini

Rita Levi-Montalcini (April 22, 1909 - December 30, 2012) was an Italian neurologist and neurobiologist best known for discovering the nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein essential for the development, survival, and differentiation of neurons. Through innovative experiments, she demonstrated the crucial role of trophic factors in the nervous system, opening new paths for understanding neuronal development and neurodegenerative diseases. For this discovery, she shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 with Stanley Cohen. Her work left a lasting impact on neuroscience and cell biology.

Quotes

• I have lost a bit of my sight, much of my hearing. At conferences, I can't see the presentations and can't hear well. But I think more now than when I when I was twenty. The body can do whatever it likes. I am not the body: I am the mind.
• Man is ruined by servility, conformism, obsequiousness, rather than aggressiveness, which is much more common in the environment than within ourselves.
• In life one should never give in, surrender oneself to mediocrity, but rather move out of that grey area where everything is habit and passive resignation. One has to grow the courage to rebel.