Johns Hopkins and Family of Henrietta Lacks Break Ground on Building Named in Honor of Henrietta Lacks

The Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine, together with descendants of Henrietta Lacks, broke ground today on the future site of the building named in honor of Mrs. Lacks, the Baltimore County woman whose HeLa cells have contributed to medical advancements around the world.

“Today we make a concrete commitment to ensure that Henrietta Lacks’ name will be as immortal as her cells," says Ron Daniels, president of The Johns Hopkins University. "When the Henrietta Lacks Building rises, it will be a vibrant, multidisciplinary site of learning, discovery and dialogue that will facilitate community-oriented medical research and nurture the next wave of progress in the study and promotion of research ethics. We look forward to a building that will do justice to Henrietta Lacks’ transformative legacy, and we offer our heartfelt thanks to the members of the Lacks family for their generosity of spirit in lending this building her name.” 

“At Johns Hopkins, we have such profound respect for Henrietta Lacks and for all her life led to. She is one of the most consequential contributors to science and medicine," says Theodore DeWeese, M.D., dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "It is our hope that this building will serve as an important reflection on the meaning of her life to the world.”

“The success of the Berman Institute is built on opportunities for collaboration within our community and across the university,” says Jeffrey Kahn, Ph.D., M.P.H, the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. “The breadth and depth of our work will expand with this new building, and its dedication to Henrietta Lacks is an important reminder of the need for ethics, equity, responsible science, and community-engaged research.”

“I’m excited to break ground for the Henrietta Lacks Building,” says Jeri Lacks Whye, granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks and member of the Henrietta Lacks Building Advisory Committee. “Although this building will bear her name, it will also provide space for continued research, learning, and inspiring future generations. We acknowledge more than the scientific contributions made possible by her cells. We also acknowledge the story of a Black woman who did not live to see the world that her cells helped to create — a story that for too long was hidden. Our hope is that this building will continue to shed light on her legacy.”

“Seventy-three years ago, the world knew her as Helen Lane and Henry Lawson,” says Veronica Robinson, granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks and member of the Henrietta Lacks Building Advisory Committee. “They were afraid to say her name. Her journey started as a patient. today we continue her legacy by attributing her contributions as not just an unwilling participant but as the mother of modern medicine. Say her name Henrietta Lacks.”

Plans for the building were first announced in 2018, with initial designs for the building shared in 2022. Vines Architecture is the design architect; Baltimore-based Design Collective is the architect of record; and local Baltimore construction firm Mahogany — in conjunction with Turner Construction Company — has led preconstruction services and will serve as the construction manager to deliver the building. 

The new 34,000-square-foot building will be located on the East Baltimore campus at the corner of Ashland and Rutland avenues and will adjoin Deering Hall, the historic home of the Berman Institute of Bioethics. The building will support multiple programs of the Berman Institute, The Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and will house flexible program and classroom space for educational, research and community-use purposes.

Daniels, DeWeese and Kahn shared speeches at the groundbreaking ceremony and were joined by many members of the Johns Hopkins and local community, federal and local elected officials, as well as a number of Henrietta Lacks’ descendants.

Construction of the building is anticipated to be complete in 2026. For more information about the project, please visit hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/updates.html.