Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award Program Nomination Information
Nominations for the 2025 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award open Thursday, July 10!
Below are the important dates, eligibility criteria, and the process.
Nominations will only be accepted online on the JHU InfoReady portal. After reading the requirements below, please submit your nomination online here.
Important Dates
Q&A Information Session | Friday, August 1, 2025, from noon-1 p.m.; Register here. |
Submission Deadline | Monday, August 25, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. |
Award Notification | Monday, September 15, 2025 |
Award Ceremony At the Annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture hosted by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical & Translational Research | Saturday, October 4, 2025, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. In person |
Awardee Interviews & Video Production | September 15–November 1, 2025 |
For Questions: | Contact urbanhealth@jhu.edu |
Submit your nomination
How to Submit a Nomination
Please find below, at a high level, the key steps in the process.
- Review the key dates and nomination requirements.
- Ensure eligibility of the nominated program and for both collaborators.
- Review the guiding principles & best practices for community engagement for outcomes and measures.
- Start working on the nomination.
- Create an account on the JHU InfoReady platform.
- Contact UHI with questions at urbanhealth@jhu.edu.
- Consider attending the virtual Q&A session on August 1 (register here).
- Complete and submit your nomination early.
- Check your work for errors.
- Submit on the JHU InfoReady platform.
- Save the Date of the in-person Award Ceremony: Saturday, October 4, 2025
- Be on the lookout for the decision in mid-September 2025.
- If self-nominated, this optional step is encouraged: Update or create the JHU PaymentWorks vendor profile for the collaborating community organization, in collaboration with the JH financial support representative. Contact UHI with questions at urbanhealth@jhu.edu.
Key Information
Eligibility
- Baltimore-City-focused program or a project based at the Baltimore City community-based organization (CBO) that addresses one or more of the following issues: health and health equity, poverty, community health and well-being, social justice, and neighborhood development.
- The program has been developed collaboratively by at least one community-based organization and at least one Johns Hopkins faculty, student, or staff member.
- Both the collaboration and the nominated program/project must be active and at least two years old.
- Program collaborators can either nominate the eligible program themselves, or the program can be nominated by others closely familiar with it (e.g., program participants, etc.).
- Eligible programs nominated in the past that did not receive the award may be nominated again.
- Priority will be given to locally-established initiatives that work to improve health and health equity, social determinants of health, especially housing and education, child and adolescent health and well-being, aim to alleviate poverty, address inequalities and disparities, and strengthen the social fabric of a neighborhood.
Nomination Application Requirements
Award nominations are accepted online annually. Nominations should include:
- Contact information from each collaborating organization.
- Summary of the nominated program (200 words)
- Description of the nominated program and the collaboration (1,800 words) including:
- History: How did the team form? What role did collaborators play in creating the nominated program?
- Program's mission, vision, goals, and objectives: What is the nominated program trying to accomplish? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs)? What tactics are used to achieve the goals? How are the outcomes evaluated?
- Structure: Describe the administrative and financial structure that supports the work of the collaboration and how decisions are made.
- Current Funding: Describe how the nominated program is currently funded, and how decisions are made when securing new or additional funding.
- Community Impact: Indicate which specific Baltimore City community neighborhood(s) the nominated community-based program impacts. Describe the impact of the nominated program, including program results, success stories, additional funding secured or needed to continue the work, etc.
- Accomplishments: Describe a few of the major achievements of the nominated program.
- Sustainability: Describe the plan for continuing the nominated program in the future.
- Use of the Award Funds: In a sentence or two, share how the funds will be used if the nominated program is selected to receive this $15,000 award (100 words).
- References: Provide the names and contact information of up to three individuals familiar with the nominated program and the collaboration.
Applications Review, and Selection of the Award Recipient
Nominations will be reviewed by university and community leaders who serve on UHI’s Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award Selection Committee. Decisions are made based on the information described in the submitted nomination. The review is a two-step process.
- The Selection Committee members score eligible nominations independently, focusing on the content of the submitted information.
- The Committee meets to discuss the nominations, their scores, program sustainability, and projected use of the award funds, and collectively selects the Winning Program.
It is anticipated that the award recipient will be selected and notified in mid-September 2025.
To learn about past recipients of UHI’s Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award, please visit this webpage.
Award Ceremony and Program Recognition
This year’s recipient will be selected mid-September, and the collaboration would be formally recognized during the Award Ceremony on Saturday, October 4, 2025, during the annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture hosted by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical & Translational Research. We encourage representatives from both collaborating organizations and program participants to attend the ceremony and the Lecture. The UHI will secure event tickets for all Ceremony participants.
As part of the award recognition, UHI will produce a professional video showcasing interviews and footage from the October 4th ceremony of the award-winning community-based program. Interviews and video production are scheduled to begin in mid-September. To learn more about the video’s purpose and what to expect, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions & Answers Information Session
On Friday, August 1, 2025, from noon to 1:00 pm, we will host a virtual Q&A Session for anyone interested in nominating a local program to be recognized with the 2025 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award. During the session, we will provide a brief overview of the award, but will focus primarily on answering specific questions about your programs and the nomination process. To attend, please sign up here.
Q: If I am a Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, or student affiliated with more than one Johns Hopkins school, what school should be listed in the JH collaborator section of the application for the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award?
A: Please indicate the school and department that supports your work specifically related to the nominated program. This may or may not include any funds administration and oversight for your work.
Q: Am I allowed to be listed as the Johns Hopkins collaborator on more than one nomination for the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award?
A: Yes, if you work with multiple Baltimore City organizations on programs eligible for the award, please submit a separate nomination for each program.
Q: If a Johns Hopkins faculty/staff member also holds a position at the community-based organization where the program takes place, is their program eligible for the Henrietta Lacks Memorial award?
A: The UHI offers this award to (1) highlight the importance of community-university collaborations, (2) recognize the accomplishments that can be achieved by such collaborations, and (3) continue to support the efforts of the collaborations. While holding an official position at both collaborating organizations does not affect program eligibility status, the description of the nominated program should clearly reflect its collaborative foundation, structure, and work.
Q: What is a CBO in the context? What business structures are considered eligible collaborators?
A: Our definition of a Baltimore City community-based organization (CBO) includes non-profits and local groups or coalitions serving the community. In most cases, CBOs exclude corporations (e.g., LLCs), but grassroots businesses, co-ops, or social enterprises that offer community-based services and collaborate often with other nonprofits are considered eligible for this opportunity.
Q: Are programs/organizations located in Baltimore County considered eligible to apply?
A: The focus of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute is specific and limited to organizations serving and located in Baltimore City, and through this Award, we aim to reconnect research with the community as a way to honor the memory of Mrs. Lacks. So, unfortunately, a program located in Baltimore County and/or serving county residents is not eligible for this Award.
Q: Should both the collaboration and the specific project/program be 2+ years old, or just the collaboration?
A: Both the partnership/collaboration and the nominated project/program must be at least 2 years old.
Q: Do you have any recommendations for reapplying?
A: Previously nominated programs that were not selected as the Winner of the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award, including those recognized as runners up or given an honorable mention, are welcome to reapply. However, it's important to avoid submitting the exact same nomination. The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute regularly solicits feedback and reviews communications, striving to improve the nomination and selection processes.
Q: Are we required to submit a budget? If so, should it come from the community-based organization or the JHU partner?
A: An optional budget narrative can be included in the Use of Award Funds section of the nomination. The level of detail is up to you, but it needs to clearly explain how the awarded funds will be utilized in this collaborative project or program. There is also an option to upload a budget at the end of the application to provide further details.
Q: Can you elaborate on the administration of the Award funds?
A: Award funds will be sent directly to the community-based organization of the collaboration. As part of the UHI's ongoing effort to address systemic challenges in paying community collaborators at JHU, we encourage the collaborating community organization to work with the JHU financial support representative to review, update, or create the JHU PaymentWorks vendor profile after submitting the nomination. The new vendor setup process typically takes around 6-8 weeks.