Marie actually went by her full name: Marie Sklodowska Curie.
The two were a match made in heaven Marie with the mind to change the course of history, and Pierre with the means to help her do so. He was a professor in the physics department at the Sorbonne University where she was studying. Marie Curie and Her Husband Were a Force to be Reckoned WithĪt age 28, Marie Sklodowska got married to a man named Pierre Curie. It was here that her scientific mind was really allowed to thrive. By the age of 24, she had saved enough money to get herself to Paris, where she enrolled in Sorbonne University on the Left Bank. Sklodowska took an interest in science from an early age, and was a noticeably smart child. She was born Marie Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland in 1867 to two schoolteachers who raised her with little money in poverty stricken neighborhood. Marie Curie Moved to Paris in 1891Ĭontrary to popular belief, Marie Curie wasn’t French. We are deeply committed to the ongoing efforts at our institutions and elsewhere to honor the contributions of Henrietta Lacks and to ensure the appropriate protection and care of the Lacks family’s medical information.Marie Curie – by Henri Manuel – Wikimedia Commons 1. Though the collection and use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells in research was an acceptable and legal practice in the 1950s, such a practice would not happen today without the patient’s consent. Having reviewed our interactions with Henrietta Lacks and with the Lacks family over more than 50 years, we found that Johns Hopkins could have – and should have – done more to inform and work with members of Henrietta Lacks’ family out of respect for them, their privacy and their personal interests. Johns Hopkins applauds and regularly participates in efforts to raise awareness of the life and story of Henrietta Lacks. Rather, Johns Hopkins offered HeLa cells freely and widely for scientific research. Lacks ultimately passed away on October 4, 1951, at the age of 31, her cells continue to impact the world.Īlthough these were the first cells that could be easily shared and multiplied in a lab setting, Johns Hopkins has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line. They have been used to test the effects of radiation and poisons, to study the human genome, to learn more about how viruses work, and played a crucial role in the development of the polio and COVID-19 vaccines.Īlthough Mrs. Today, these incredible cells - nicknamed "HeLa" cells, from the first two letters of her first and last names - are used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. Lacks' cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours. Lacks’ cells were unlike any of the others he had ever seen: where other cells would die, Mrs.
Gey, a prominent cancer and virus researcher, had been collecting cells from all patients - regardless of their race or socioeconomic status - who came to The Johns Hopkins Hospital with cervical cancer, but each sample quickly died in Dr. A sample of her cancer cells retrieved during a biopsy were sent to Dr. This was the best medical treatment available at the time for this terrible disease. Lacks began undergoing radium treatments for her cervical cancer.
At the time, The Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of only a few hospitals to treat poor African-Americans.Īs medical records show, Mrs. Howard Jones discovered a large, malignant tumor on her cervix. Upon examination, renowned gynecologist Dr. In 1951, a young mother of five named Henrietta Lacks visited The Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding.