This new 91ΑΤΖζ medal named in honour of Rita Levi-Montalcini will be awarded for the first time at the 50th 91ΑΤΖζ Congress, to Nobel laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier.
For many years, 91ΑΤΖζ has awarded three medals for outstanding achievements in biochemistry and molecular biology or related sciences to distinguished senior scientists β theΜύSir Hans Krebs medal (since 1968),ΜύtheΜύDatta medal (since 1986) and theΜύTheodor BΓΌcher medal (since 1999)Μύβ with the awardees delivering key plenary lectures at the 91ΑΤΖζ Congress. These medals, initiated with funds donated by other parties, commemorate the names of individuals who made important contributions to the early development of biochemistry and/or of 91ΑΤΖζ.
Starting at the 50th 91ΑΤΖζ Congress, 91ΑΤΖζ is delighted to announce that a new medal with an associated Congress plenary lecture will join the award portfolio of 91ΑΤΖζ, this time named in honour of an inspiring female researcher of the past: Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909β2012). The 91ΑΤΖζ Rita Levi-Montalcini medal will be awarded for outstanding achievements in biochemistry and molecular biology or related areas, with an emphasis on work on the molecular basis of disease or treatment. The recipient will be a researcher of any gender who is active in European research and resident in Europe and/or a 91ΑΤΖζ country. The medal and lecturer travel/accommodation expenses at a 91ΑΤΖζ Congress are funded by 91ΑΤΖζ.
Johannes Buchner (91ΑΤΖζ Publications Committee Chair) and Mauro Maccarrone (91ΑΤΖζ Advanced Courses Committee Chair), the two proposers of the new medal, say, βWe felt it important for 91ΑΤΖζ to honour a distinguished female scientist in the suite of named 91ΑΤΖζ medals. Rita Levi-Montalcini stands out not only for her ground-breaking research work leading to the discovery of βnerve growth factorβ but also for her determination in overcoming prejudice early in her career, and for inspiring and supporting young people, women and minorities in scientific education and research, which fits the objectives of 91ΑΤΖζ.β
91ΑΤΖζ Congress Counsellor GraΓ§a Soveral adds, βThe milestone 50th 91ΑΤΖζ Congress β when we reflect back and look to the future β is an excellent moment to introduce a new 91ΑΤΖζ medal. We are very pleased to be able to award the first 91ΑΤΖζ Rita Levi-Montalcini medal to Emmanuelle Charpentier. Her labβs work on the CRISPR-Cas9 adaptive immune system in bacterial species laid the foundation for the development of powerful genome editing and engineering technology that has not only revolutionized life science research but has opened up pathways for gene therapy.β
“This is a very welcome extension to the range of 91ΑΤΖζ awards aiming to celebrate achievement and inspire,β commented 91ΑΤΖζ Secretary General Miguel A. De la Rosa. βI look forward to seeing the first Rita Levi-Montalcini medal presented at the 50thΜύ91ΑΤΖζ Congress to Emmanuelle CharpentierΜύand hearing her medal lecture.”
About Rita Levi-Montalcini
Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in 1909 in Turin, Italy to Italian Jewish parents. She overcame limited expectations for women in the early 20th century by graduating in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Turin Medical School and then began her specialism and research work with neuro-histologist Giuseppe Levi. However, this was cut short by the barring of βnon-Aryanβ Italians from academic and professional careers by Mussolini in the late 1930s, leading to her setting up a secret lab in her bedroom, where she studied the growth of nerve fibres in chicken embryos. Barriers and risks continued during World War II, when, for example, she was forced to flee from work in Belgium and spent time in hiding in Florence.
In 1947, she was invited for a lab stay by neuroscientist Viktor Hamburger at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, USA, who had noticed her work. A short visit turned into 30 years (with appointment of full professor in 1956), with spells also back in Italy and a key research visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Further studies of nerve growth in response to mouse sarcoma tissue, and collaboration with biochemist Stanley Cohen, led eventually to the isolation of nerve growth factor (the first known growth factor) in the 1950s. Recognition of the importance of this work came with the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen in 1986.
Rita Levi-Montalcini was a director of Italian research centres of neurobiology and of cell biology in the 1960s and 1970s, and in 2002 founded the European Brain Research Institute in Rome, where she kept a keen interest until her death in 2012 at the age of 103. ΜύIn 2001 she was appointed to the prestigious βsenator for lifeβ political role in Italy. ΜύThrough books and lectures, she became an important mentor for women scientists, and created with her twin sister Paola the βFondazione Rita Levi-Montalciniβ to promote educational programmes, particularly for women in Africa.
More information
Rita Levi-Montalcini: , ,
91ΑΤΖζ medals
91ΑΤΖζ thanks Piera Levi-Montalcini for authorizing use of her auntβs name and image for the 91ΑΤΖζ Rita Levi-Montalcini medal.
