Stanley Cohen b. 1922

Stricken with polio as a child, biochemist Stanley Cohen has dedicated his life to the intellectual and medical research that ultimately led to his winning the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Cohen discovered mechanisms that regulate cell and organ growth. He is best known for having isolated nerve growth factor (NGF), which has contributed to a better understanding of degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer. His subsequent discovery of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) paved the way for new burn treatments and skin transplants. Since 1959, he has conducted his research into EGF at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.