Biography

Veronica Robinson is a patient rights advocate who speaks on The Lacks family's experience in biomedical research, its impact on participation, and ethics in this modern era of precision medicine. She also serves as Senior Advisor to the Lacks family-led HELA100: Henrietta Lacks Initiative and is honored to serve as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Cervical Cancer Elimination.

Veronica travels the country sharing The Lacks Family’s efforts to control their medical history and rebuild trust with the medical community, about which she was honored to give a 2018 TedX Talk.

Working with the National Institutes of Health, Veronica serves as an All of US Ambassador advocating for access to precision medicine and a Lacks Family Representative on the HeLa Genome Data Access Working Group. As a member of this groundbreaking Working Group, she provides controlled access to genomic data and ensures credit is attributed to The Lacks Family in publications based on the research done with Henrietta’s DNA data.

Inspired by her family's journey, Veronica began her studies at Baltimore City Community College, now focused on political science to help advance health equity and social justice for all. As a mentor for Baltimore City Public Schools, Veronica is committed to empowering the next generation. Today, Veronica sees the first-hand impact of Henrietta Lacks' legacy on patient rights, informed consent, and patient-centered care as she works in a medical lab in Maryland.