The Healthcare & Life Sciences Club at Ross is thrilled to host its fourth annual Henrietta Lacks Case Competition on February 6th and 7th, 2026! Teams of 3-5 students across disciplines and universities will come together to source innovative solutions to address pervasive health disparities in areas such as health coverage, chronic health conditions, mental health, and mortality in underserved populations. Teams will have the opportunity to present their ideas to experts in the field, form new connections with their peers, and engage with industry leaders. Check out our website as we share more details here.
Please reach out to mambady@umich.edu with any questions.
The application for the 2026 case competition will open in January 2026. Check back for details!
The Henrietta Lacks Health Equity Case Competition at The University of Michigan Ross School of Business is inspired by the life of Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells – code named HeLa – were taken without her knowledge in 1951. They became one of the most important tools in medicine—with damaging consequences for her family, many of whom often struggled to get access to the very health care advances their mother’s cells helped make possible. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of research studies conducted on individuals—particularly within minority communities—without their knowledge or consent. These include the Tuskegee Syphilis Studies, the Human Radiation Experiments, and many others.
The Henrietta Lacks Health Equity Case Competition strives to keep the spotlight on racial health disparities. Our goal is to encourage future business, public health, and medical leaders to reframe their training and address health issues challenging communities of color.
This competition draws around 70 participants from 7-10 schools each year. Students represented a wide variety of backgrounds, spanning Business, Public Health, Engineering, Law, and Public Policy, fostering innovative and cross-disciplinary solutions specifically targeted to our sponsors’ business goals.