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Women's Conference

Youth-Nex co-sponsored "Speaking Up: Effective Communication for Women in Academia," presented by the University of Virginia Office of the Provost. The event was held May 1 and 2 at Morven Farm and U.Va.'s Harrison Institute. View the Conference Slideshow.
Download conference schedule and details pdf

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

photos by Ellen Daniels

Tolan, Panel and Community Engage in Lively Discussion in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.–Overcoming a Legacy of Mistrust:
 Reflections on "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"

THE STORY OF HENRIETTA LACKS: In 1951, a scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, created the first immortal human cell line with a tissue sample taken, without informed consent, from a 
young black woman with cervical cancer.  Those cells, called HeLa cells, quickly became invaluable to medical research — though their donor remained a mystery for decades.  
Since then, her cells have been shipped to scientists all over the world and traveled on space missions for the purposes of research.  While Henrietta Lacks’ trillions of cells contribute to the advancement of science, many of her family members continue to live without health insurance.  This powerful story appears in detail in Rebecca Skloot’s important recent book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Listen to the AUDIO and read more about the event