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An Evening with Rebecca Skloot: An Intersection of Science & Ethics
March 4, 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Free
Join us for a discussion with author Rebecca Skloot about the story of unraveling science and ethics, in exploring her New York Times bestselling novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
REBECCA SKLOOT has spent more than ten years doggedly uncovering the truth about the life, death, and ultimate “immortality” of a poor Black tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks. Her phenomenal book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has sold nearly 3 million copies to date. In The Immortal Life, Skloot tells the story of a young Black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951—and left behind an inexplicably immortal line of cells known as HeLa. Henrietta’s cells—harvested without her knowledge or consent—contributed to scientific advancements as varied as the polio vaccine, treatments for cancers and viruses, in-vitro fertilization, and the impact of space travel on human cells. Part detective story, part scientific odyssey, and part family saga, The Immortal Life raises haunting yet urgent questions about race, class, autonomy, and bioethics in America.
Her novel has spent more than four years on The New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into more than 25 languages. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was also made into an Emmy-nominated HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey as Deborah Lacks and Rose Byrne as Skloot. She has spoken widely at high schools, colleges, and professional organizations, including Johns Hopkins University, Morehouse School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, Harvard University, Yale University, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), and more. She has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including The Colbert Report, CBS Sunday Morning, and NPR programs including Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation. She is the founder and president of the Henrietta Lacks Foundation, which strives to provide financial assistance to needy individuals who have made important contributions to scientific research without their knowledge or consent.