Women's History Month Lecture--on Henrietta Lacks

Dr. Serife Tekin, "Medicine & Identity: Lessons from Henrietta Lacks"

Friday, March 21, from 12:20-1:15 pm (DS236)

Henrietta Lacks, ca. 1950

Henrietta Lacks was a working-class African-American woman who died from cervical cancer in 1951, aged 31. Cells from her cancerous tumor gave rise to HeLa, the first human immortal cell line.

HeLa has made possible countless medical discoveries and scientific advancements, but Lacks’ story raises disturbing ethical questions:

      Is it ethical to use human subjects without consent?

      How did Lacks’ intersectional identity—as an African American woman from a low-income background—shape the ways in which she and her descendants were wronged in the medical context?

Join Dr. Tekin and her students and contribute to this important discussion of race, identity, and medicine. Free & open to the public.



Lecture by Dr. Serife Tekin, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Open classroom event for PHI321: Medical Ethics

Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion & Daemen Women’s Studies Program


** Pizza and drinks are provided, so you don't have to skip lunch to attend!