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DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1761426
Rita Levi-Montalcini: the neurologist who challenged fascism
Rita Levi-Montalcini: a neurologista que desafiou o fascismo
Abstract
Rita Levi-Montalcini was a researcher in the field of neuroscience, Italian and Jewish in origin, who discovered the nerve growth factor and rightfully earned the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, alongside her collaborator Stanley Cohen. She was persecuted by the fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini and experienced gender and religious discrimination throughout her entire life. Despite these obstacles, she carried out her activities with diligence and grace, becoming a role model in the field. This paper reviews the life and career of Rita Levi-Montalcini.
Resumo
Rita Levi-Montalcini foi uma pesquisadora no campo das neurociências, de origem Italiana e Judia, que descobriu o fator de crescimento neural e merecidamente recebeu o Prêmio Nobel de Fisiologia ou Medicina de 1986, em conjunto ao seu colaborador Stanley Cohen. Ela foi perseguida pela ditadura fascista de Benito Mussolini, e sofreu discriminação de gênero e religião durante sua vida inteira. A despeito desses obstáculos, sempre exerceu suas atividades com diligência e graça, tornando-se um exemplo nesse campo de estudo. O presente artigo faz uma revisão sobre a vida e carreira de Rita Levi-Montalcini.
Keywords
History of Medicine - Neurology - Neurosciences - Nerve Growth Factor - Neurodegenerative DiseasesPalavras-chave
História da Medicina - Neurologia - Neurociências - Fator de Crescimento Neural - Doenças NeurodegenerativasAuthors' Contributions
LC: organization and execution of the research project, writing of the first draft; HAGT: review and critique, writing of the final manuscript.
Publication History
Received: 17 August 2022
Accepted: 27 November 2022
Article published online:
14 March 2023
© 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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