Stanley Cohen (biochemist)

Biography

Stanley Cohen (November 17, 1922 – February 5, 2020) was an American biochemist who, along with Rita Levi-Montalcini , was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for the isolation of nerve growth factor and the discovery of epidermal growth factor . Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 17, 1922. He was the son of Fannie (née Feitel) and Louis Cohen, a tailor. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] His parents were Jewish immigrants. [ 5 ] Cohen received his bachelor's degree in 1943 from Brooklyn College , where he had double-majored in chemistry and biology . After working as a bacteriologist at a milk processing plant to earn money, he received his Master of Arts in zoology from Oberlin College in 1945. He earned a doctorate from the department of biochemistry about the metabolism of earthworms at the University of Michigan in 1948. [ 6 ] His first academic employment was at the University of Colorado studying the metabolism of premature babies. In 1952 he moved to Washington University in St. Louis , working first in the department of radiology, learning isotope methodology, and then in the department of zoology. Working with Rita Levi-Montalcini , he isolated nerve growth factor. He later isolated a protein that could accelerate incisor eruption and eyelid opening in newborn mice, [ 7 ] which was renamed epidermal growth factor. [ 8 ] He continued research on cellular growth factors after joining the faculty of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1959. [ 6 ] Fields: Biochemistry Education: University of Michigan Oberlin College Brooklyn College

About the Lasker Award

The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary Woodard Lasker (a medical research activist). The awards are sometimes referred to as "America's Nobels."

Quick Facts

• Award: Lasker Award - Basic Medical Research
• Added: 2026-02-07
• Source: Wikipedia
• Established: 1946
• Presented by: Lasker Foundation

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