Stanley Cohen (biochemist)

Stanley Cohen (1922–2020) was an American biochemist who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning growth factors, including epidermal growth factor.

Connect

Rita Levi-Montalcini: An Italian-American neurobiologist who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize for discoveries concerning nerve growth factor. She collaborated with Cohen on the work that uncovered nerve growth factor.
Epidermal growth factor: A protein that binds cell-surface receptors and stimulates cell growth, survival, and differentiation. Cohen isolated and characterized this growth factor, one of his defining discoveries.
Cetuximab: A monoclonal antibody that blocks epidermal growth factor receptor signaling and is used to treat certain cancers. It targets the receptor for the growth factor Cohen discovered.
Surgical nerve regeneration experiments: Experiments examining how severed nerves regenerate and how surrounding tissues influence their growth. These investigations formed part of the research context for Cohen and Levi-Montalcini’s nerve-growth-factor work.
Viktor Hamburger: A German-American embryologist whose research on limb development helped establish the questions that led to nerve growth factor. His experiments on chick embryos prompted the research program Cohen and Levi-Montalcini advanced.
Epidermal growth factor receptor: A receptor tyrosine kinase that binds epidermal growth factor and activates intracellular signaling pathways. It is the cell-surface receptor through which Cohen’s epidermal growth factor exerts many effects.
Gefitinib: A small-molecule inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase used against certain cancers. Its development turns understanding of Cohen’s receptor pathway into targeted cancer treatment.
Snake venom: A toxic secretion produced by snakes, containing molecules with diverse effects on biological systems. Cohen found that snake venom contained a potent activity that led to epidermal growth factor’s discovery.
Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation: An Italian nonprofit organization founded by Rita Levi-Montalcini to support girls’ education and women’s empowerment. It reflects the public legacy of Cohen’s Nobel co-laureate.
Nerve growth factor: A secreted protein that supports the survival and development of certain neurons. Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini jointly discovered this signaling protein.