Commitment to building health equity
Special guests David Lacks, Jr. and Shirley Lacks were interviewed by Dr. Larry Schlesinger at the 2023 Global Health Symposium.
Texas Biomed’s 3rd Global Health Symposium (GHS) convened health executives, healthcare providers, philanthropists, business leaders, scientists, educators and students from around the world to discuss how community, trust and science can help build health equity. Participants gathered online and at the San Antonio Botanical Garden May 18 and 19.
To cap off an invigorating two days of sessions, the closing keynote featured a discussion between Texas Biomed President/CEO Larry Schlesinger, MD and special guests Shirley Lacks and David Lacks, Jr., the daughter-in-law and grandson of Henrietta Lacks.
When Henrietta was alive, a swab of cervical cancer cells was collected without her knowledge, put in a petri dish and have not stopped multiplying since. Henrietta died in 1951, yet her cells live on as the world’s first immortal human cell line. HeLa cells, as they are known, are routinely used to study and develop vaccines and therapies for a wide variety of diseases, from polio to cancer to COVID-19.
“Unanimously, we are proud of what the HeLa cells have done for the world,” David Lacks, Jr. told the audience.
But, as Shirley Lacks commented, there is also deep mistrust of research and medical fields among African- American communities – and members of their own family – because of this and other experiences. They are working to raise awareness about consent, equity and privacy in health research. Shirley Lacks shared that despite past wrongs, she encourages others to get involved in medical research, because you never know what impact it could have, like Henrietta’s.
Dr. Schlesinger acknowledged both the incredible contributions of HeLa cells and that equity must be incorporated into scientific research from the beginning.
“We’ve made mistakes, and there’s been quite a bit of mistrust out there, particularly for those individuals who are underserved or not seen enough,” he said. “I think we need to do better. I think this community understands that we need to do better.”
David Lacks, Jr. encouraged the audience to continue having conversations with diverse communities. “Educate and communicate with people,” he said. “Speak on their level… to gain trust. We’ve got a long way to go, keep at it.”
“Educate and communicate with people. Speak on their level… to gain trust. We’ve got a long way to go, keep at it.”
David Lacks, Jr.
Texas Biomed’s GHS is one way the Institute is fulfilling David Lacks’ wish. GHS 2023 welcomed more than 200 in-person guests and hundreds online for two days of conversations about the ways technology, philanthropy, public policy and science are impacting health equity across the globe. Scientists discussed how we are preparing for the next pandemic, while philanthropists and business leaders discussed how to build trust in communities. Conversations on how to inspire future generations of scientists welcomed young leaders, as did discussions on the pathways for young investigators. With accessible topics, GHS aims to engage diverse voices and create a global network of change agents.
