Author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" to Speak
Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal
Life of Henrietta Lacks" will speak at the
College on February 27.Saint Mary’s College is proud to welcome Rebecca Skloot, author of the New York Times Bestseller “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” to the College for a speaking engagement on Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. in O’Laughlin Auditorium. Click to download a campus map.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is a non-fiction narrative about a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951. The fast reproducing cells, known by scientists as HeLa for Henrietta Lacks’ first and last names, became one of the most important tools in modern medicine. HeLa cells were used in the development of the polio vaccine, gene mapping, and more. The cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.