Highly acclaimed author Rebecca Skloot spent more than
10 years doggedly uncovering the truth about the life, death, and ultimate
“immortality” of a poor black tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks. Part
detective story, part scientific odyssey, and part family saga, her phenomenal
book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is inspired by the life of
Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells—code named HeLa—were taken without her
knowledge in 1951. Rebecca is currently writing a new book on the often
controversial topic of animal research and ethics through a deeply personal
story about our complex relationships with animals—their roles in our lives, and
in science—and the humans who battle over their fates, and as a result, our
own.
SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Skloot (Journalist, Teacher, and Author: Berkeley, CA), Brian Ogle (Brevard Zoo: Melbourne, FL)