Claflin University held an event to educate students on the history of Henrietta Lacks and the biology of “HeLa Cells” which has impacted the medical field for over 70 years. High school students were invited throughout Clarendon County School District to participate. Over 130 students from Manning High School and Scott’s Branch High School, where the event was held, filled the gymnasium to gain a lesson that coincided with the state-mandated biology standards. Students began the morning with a screening of the movie “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” followed by an intellectual discussion with Claflin University biology professors Samina N. Assanoe-Shiji, Ph. D, Professor NIH-NIGMS: U-RISE Principle Investigatorm and Gloria Sanders McCutcheon, Ph. D. Chair and professor of biology.
“Many of the student participants had never heard of Henrietta Lacks nor her cells’ impact on the world. In addition to addressing many of the Biology I standards associated with Science and Engineering Principles (SEPSs) and the cell, the event provided students from both schools the opportunity to see great things can be accomplished when CCSD schools work together,” stated LaTasha Henry-Pugh, Scott’s Branch Middle/High School Science Department Chair. “Additionally, Dr. McCutcheon’s acknowledgement of the accomplishments of past CCSD students that have matriculated through the biology department at Claflin opened students’ minds to possibilities of future collaborations between students from different high schools in post-secondary outcomes.”
