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Published online 29 April 2009 | Nature 458, 1090 (2009) | doi:10.1038/4581090b

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Nobel laureate celebrates her centenary

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  • As a Phd student studying under Rita Levi-Montalcini and Viktor Hamburger at Washington University during the late 1940's and early 1950's, I was privileged to know and work with Rita during her early years in St. Louis, Missouri. During these years, I have continued to do laboratory investigations, although not with chick embryos, but the enthusiasm and excitement of experimentation that Rita expressed, continues to inspire me. Happy Birthday, Rita, and thanks for being a great person. Thelma Dunnebacke Dixon

    • 29 Apr, 2009
    • Posted by: Thelma Dunnebacke-Dixon

  • Its amazing that it has not been mentioned that she was awarded the Nobel prize for research into Nerve Growth Factor and that she attributes both her longevity and acute mental abilities, at the age of 100, to regular doses of this supplement, which she has been taking for several decades. She claims in fact that her mental capacity now is greater than when she was 20 (and she is still doing brain research). Is the money that she received more newsworthy than the testimony about the causes of her longevity and mental acuteness at age 100?

    • 29 Apr, 2009
    • Posted by: Richard Dawson

  • I will be entering graduate school in the fall at Washington University in St. Louis. I can only hope to accomplish a small fraction of what Rita has contributed to the biomedical research world, but nonetheless she is a great inspiration. Happy Birthday!

    • 29 Apr, 2009
    • Posted by: Elizabeth Selleck