Beating the Odds

The American biochemist and Nobel Prize winner Stanley Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Brooklyn College, he received his M.A. from Oberlin College and in 1948 his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Soon after, Cohen became a researcher at Washington University, where he began collaborating with Rita Levi-Montalcini. Cohen's biochemical background enabled him to help isolate the nerve growth factor (NGF) in the area of Levi-Montalcini's own research, namely, the neurogenesis of the growth of nerve cells and fibers.

Working with Levi-Montalcini from 1953 until 1959, Cohen discovered another cell growth factor in chemical extracts. Through experiments, he showed that this growth factor caused the eyes of newborn mice to open and their teeth to emerge several days sooner than normal. He labeled this substance the epidermal growth factor, or EGF, analyzing its exact chemical properties and the mechanisms by which it is taken into cells and acts upon them. Continuing his research, Cohen demonstrated that EGF influences a great range of bodily developmental processes. In 1959, Cohen was appointed professor of biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. In 1986, he shared the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine with Levi-Montalcini.

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