In 1986, Rita Levi-Montalcini was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ‘for the discovery of growth factors.’

In 1952, she succeeded in isolating a substance harvested from tumors in mice that caused vigorous nervous system growth in chicken embryos. The discovery of what are now known as growth factors has provided a deeper understanding of medical problems like deformities, senile dementia, delayed wound healing, and tumor diseases.