2011-2012 Campus Read
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells, taken without her knowledge, became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture are still alive today although Henrietta died more than sixty years ago. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they would weigh more than 50 million metric tons, as much as one hundred Empire State Buildings.
HeLa cells were vital in the development of the polio vaccine, uncovered secrets of cancer, the effects of the atom bomb, and helped lead to important advances like in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. HeLa cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.
Read the prologue and excerpts from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (or pdf format)
Learn more about Henrietta Lacks
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Reader’s Corner with Bob Kustra
Listen to President Kustra’s interview with the author of the 2011-2012 Campus Read, Rebecca Skloot, at Reader’s Corner with Bob Kustra.
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Albertson Library Research Guide
Albertsons Library has created resources to assist in exploration of this incredible story of Henrietta Lacks and her many contributions to science and research.
Albertsons Library Guide – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks