Embryo Project Encyclopedia
The Embryo Project Encyclopedia (https://embryo.asu.edu) is an open-access digital encyclopedia devoted to recording and contextualizing the science of embryos, development, and reproduction. The collection of documents, images, and multimedia housed here serves as the Encyclopedia's permanent archive.
Jane Maienschein, ASU University Professor, Regents Professor, and Director of the Biology and Society Program, started the Embryo Project Encyclopedia in 2007 with support from the National Science Foundation.
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- All Subjects: Epidermal Growth Factor
- Creators: Maienschein, Jane
Stanley Cohen is a biochemist who participated in the discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). He shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Rita Levi-Montalcini for their work on the discovery of growth factors. His work led to the discovery of many other growth factors and their roles in development.
Epidermal growth factor is a signaling molecule that stimulates the growth of epidermal tissues during development and throughout life. Stanley Cohen discovered epidermal growth factor (EGF) during studies of nerve growth factor as a side effect of other experiments. EGF stimulates tissue growth by initiating a variety of cellular mechanisms. This work led to the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini. At the Nobel Award ceremony Levi-Montalcini focused her acceptance speech on nerve growth factor, while Cohen focused his on epidermal growth factor. Although they presented different topics, they were close collaborators and their combined effort led to the discovery of nerve growth factor. They had worked together in Viktor Hamburger's laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis.