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Henrietta Lacks

Roanoke-born tobacco farmer whose cancer cells (HeLa) became the most widely used human cell line in medical research.

Submitted by @blackwiki
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Born 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia. Treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins in 1951; her cells were taken without consent and have since enabled the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, and the COVID-19 vaccines. The Lacks family won partial recognition in 2013 and a 2023 settlement with Thermo Fisher.

Location

Roanoke, VA, USA

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