Contents
Stanley Cohen
Discovering growth factors that help explain how cells grow and respond to signals.
Nerve growth factor · Epidermal growth factor
- Born
- 17 November 1922
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, United States
- Died
- 5 February 2020
More people
Stanley Cohen
Stanley Cohen was an American biochemist who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Rita Levi-Montalcini. His work helped establish the study of chemical signals between cells.
Early life
Brooklyn upbringing
His parents were immigrants from Russia; his father worked as a tailor.
Affordable education
Studied chemistry and biology at tuition-free Brooklyn College before earning degrees at Oberlin and Michigan.
Career
- 1948
Doctorate
Completed research on nitrogen metabolism in earthworms at Michigan.
- 1953
Nerve growth research
Joined the work of Levi-Montalcini and Viktor Hamburger in St. Louis.
- 1959
Vanderbilt
Moved to Nashville and pursued epidermal growth factor.
- 1986
Nobel Prize
Shared the medicine prize for discoveries of growth factors.
Selected work
Nerve growth factor
Helped isolate a substance that stimulates nerve-cell growth.
Epidermal growth factor
Identified a protein that stimulates cell growth and division.
EGF receptor
Investigated how cells receive and relay the growth signal.
Beyond the discoveries
Outdoor life
Enjoyed hiking, including trips in Colorado and Arizona.
Small laboratory
Kept a research group of only a few people even after his Nobel Prize, preferring to stay close to experiments.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel autobiography ↗ASBMB remembrance ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
