Author Rebecca Skloot to Present Free Public Lecture at UCR as Part of Immortality Project Lecture Series

Her book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," raises and addresses questions of ethical issues of race and class in medical research

By Ross French on October 20, 2014

Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, will speak at UC Riverside on Nov. 20, 2014.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. The story of a set of human cells that have been used extensively in medical research for more than six decades, the tragic history of the woman they were taken from, and the accompanying ethical issues of race and class in medical research will be discussed in a free public lecture by New York Times bestselling writer Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 in the Highlander Union Building, room 302 on the campus of the University of California, Riverside.

Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and the lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. with a question and answer session to follow. A book signing will also take place at the conclusion of the evening. Seating is limited. Free parking will be available in Parking Lot 1.

Skloots book examines the history of the first-known human immortal cell line used for medical research, called HeLa, and the woman who unknowingly provided the cells, Henrietta Lacks. It has received several awards, including the National Academies Best Book of the Year Award, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Best Young Adult Book Award and the Heartland Prize for non-fiction.

Skloots appearance is part of the year-long lecture series hosted by The Immortality Project, which was established at UC Riverside in 2012 by Professor John Martin Fischer with a $5 million, three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation to undertake a rigorous examination of a wide range of issues related to immortality.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a certain kind of immortality not as a conscious being, and not just in terms of memories and fame, but as the donor of cells that continue to multiply indefinitely, Fischer said. The book is beautifully written and raises issues about social justice and informed consent. It discusses these difficult and disturbing issues in a way that remains humane and personally compelling throughout.

I think one of the things that really makes The Immortal Life powerful for students is that the story is so personal for them, Skloot said. Everyone in the world has benefited personally from HeLa cells in some way, and theres always a point in the book when readers realize this, whether its because theyve gotten vaccines developed using HeLa cells, were conceived through in vitro fertilization, or any number of other things. Students often tell me that their mother or father is alive because their cancer was treated with a drug made using HeLa cells I look forward to being with the students at UCR and sharing with them the way the Lackses story affects us all.

The cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Courtesy Rebecca Skloot

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Author Rebecca Skloot to Present Free Public Lecture at UCR as Part of Immortality Project Lecture Series