Deleso A. Alford, J.D., LL.M.
- Biography: Deleso A. Alford, J.D., LL.M. is the University of New Mexico (UNM) OfDEI Humanity Matters Visiting Professor. She is no stranger to UNM, first serving as the UNM Health Sciences Center, Office for DEI Inaugural Diversity Visiting Scholar in 2012, then returned in 2018, and in 2019 as UNM HSC's Distinguished Diversity Scholar Luncheon speaker and again in May 2024. Her current visiting professorship is led by the HSC Office for DEI leadership and is an innovative collaborative effort with several contributing funding partners including the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, UNM Hospital, and the Office for Community Health, along with in-kind contributions from the Office for Continuous Professional Learning. Her academic department is Family & Community Medicine, and she is also an Affiliated Faculty member at UNM School of Law. Since her visitorship which began in February 2025, the integration of Professor Alford's interdisciplinary and interprofessional scholarship has fostered meaningful connections and augmented impactful programming with, and our UNM faculty, staff, learners, graduates, trainees, community members, and leaders.
Professor Alford is notably referred to as the “Architect of the theory of unjust enrichment, as applied to the immortal cell line of Mrs. Henrietta Lacks.” Her work bridges law, healthcare, and ethics using what she calls “HER stories”—the unique and particularized lived inhumane experiences of marginalized women intersecting with healthcare and research. Professor Alford’s national reputation as a speaker and scholar with outstanding contributions to the legal field has been memorialized as an inductee into Southern University Law Center's 2025 Hall of Fame, where she holds the distinguished rank of Rachel Emanuel Endowed Professor. Her seminal law review article authored in 2012 entitled, HeLa Cells and Unjust Enrichment in the Human Body, serves as the catalyst and theory of the case for the historical lawsuits filed on behalf of the Estate of Henrietta Lacks, after over seventy years fighting for justice. Professor Alford’s book proposal entitled, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks, HeLa Cells and Unjust Enrichment: Humanity Matters was recently accepted by Carolina Academic Press.
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) selected Professor Alford as the 2025 recipient of the Impact Legacy Award for her scholarship and legal advocacy in the historic Henrietta Lacks' cases amongst other contributions. She is the prestigious 2024 National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) awardee for the National Leadership Award for Education held during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.
Recently, on behalf of the UNMH Patient Family Advisory Committee (PFAC), Professor Alford received an iCare Award for exemplifying UNMH excellence during her presentation aimed at engaging patient family advisors to share their lived experience as it relates to Humanity Matters. Her scholarship has moved from classrooms to courtroom, benefiting legal, healthcare professions and society. Professor Alford earned a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude at Southern Univ. A&M College, a Juris Doctorate at Southern University Law Center, and a Master of Laws at Georgetown University Law Center. Her interest in bioethics led to her earning a Certification in Clinical Bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
- Full Name: Deleso A. Alford, J.D., LL.M.
- Title: University of New Mexico (UNM) OfDEI Humanity Matters Visiting Professor
Keynote Video Coming Soon