TEDMED 2014 Kicks Off With Unprecedented Roster of Leaders and Innovators in Health and Medicine

WASHINGTON, and SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TEDMED, the health and medicine edition of the famous TED movement, begins Wednesday in San Francisco and Washington, DC, featuring an unprecedented lineup of science leaders and health industry innovators who are convening around the theme, unlocking imagination in health and medicine.

For the first time ever, the event will be hosted on two stages simultaneously – in Washington, DC at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts. The two stages will share speakers between them via live streaming and will encourage broad community participation from coast to coast. TEDMED Live will further extend distribution of content globally by broadcasting the program to almost 140 countries, where it will be viewed by more than 150,000 people.

In addition, TEDMED 2014 will feature 80 startups in The Hive, an informal social environment featuring the innovative ideas that can transform health and medicine. The Hive spotlights innovations across the healthcare landscape from biotech and life sciences, health IT, mobile and digital health, and features access to and insights from the entrepreneurs powering these startups.

"TEDMED is three transformational days when the world comes together to focus on what is new and important in health and medicine," said TEDMED Curator and Chairman Jay Walker. "Our multi-disciplinary, global community of leading doers and thinkers comes from inside and outside of health and medicine. At TEDMED we break down the silos between disciplines and share perspectives that can spark breakthrough thinking for a healthier world."

"The whole world comes together to celebrate human achievement, competition and sport with the Olympics," pointed out TEDMED Partner and Chief Operating Officer Shirley Bergin. "There's a worldwide celebration of design with Fashion Week, and the World Cup rivets the planet's attention for an entire month. At TEDMED, we ask: Why not three days when the whole world embraces the most vital issue of all -- health? This is our vision, and our commitment, at TEDMED."

TEDMED 2014 speakers to address most timely, relevant and often controversial issues in health and medicine

TEDMED's 2014 speakers were selected to help reframe the way we think and inspire critical new possibilities for the future of health and medicine. Curated by a team of doctors, scientists, public health experts, technologists and business leaders, the 90 speakers and performers were selected out of thousands of nominees.

"This year's TEDMED speakers represent an exciting blend of well-known authorities who bring fresh messages, with new discoveries who offer provocative yet scientifically credible points of view," said TEDMED Director of Stage Content, Nassim Assefi. "All of our speakers will share stories and ideas that promise transformational impact on health and medicine. They'll talk about everything from usual technologies like 'personalized prosthetic voices' to ideas that challenge the conventional wisdom on global pandemics; the future of medical education; the ethics of DNA testing; and dozens of additional topics with equally critical impact."

The 2014 TEDMED stage program is organized around nine distinct themes, each designed to provoke fresh thinking and unlock participants' imagination. Sessions range from "We Just Don't Know," where speakers will address the power of admitting ignorance, to "Stealing Smart," which will focus on cross-disciplinary inspiration. Notably, this year's speaker roster is 51% female and 49% male. Speakers represent 20 nations from around the globe.

Just a few of the many highlights from TEDMED's extensive roster of speakers and performers across both stages include:

Elizabeth Nabel, President of Brigham and Women's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, will share a personally revealing story that points to how the assumption of certainty can be a weakness and how acknowledging our ignorance can be a strength.

Marc Koska, inventor of a life-saving syringe, will share the struggles, setbacks, breakthroughs and ultimate triumphs of this technology's 30-year odyssey from "great idea" to "globally adopted reality." 

Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the NIH (and the great-granddaughter of Leon Trotsky), will reexamine the obesity epidemic through the lens of addiction.

Daniel Webster, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, will examine some surprisingly hopeful possibilities that exist for a controversial public policy conundrum.

Sigrid Fry-Revere, Founder and President of the Center for Ethical Solutions, will discuss issues around organ transplantation policy...and an unexpectedly effective solution that is usually overlooked.

For the complete list of sessions, themes, hosts and speakers, please visit: www.tedmed.com/speakers.

The Hive spotlights innovations that are transforming health and medicine

The Hive, combining TEDMED's relaxing social space and innovation spotlight, provides an arena for Delegates to experience forward-looking startups and amazing new technologies. This year, The Hive was curated by an outstanding team of authorities in fields ranging from medicine to informatics, venture capital, healthcare information technology, cutting-edge tech journalism, global communications networks and more.

Featured companies include:

At Point of Care delivers aggregate patient information combined with targeted medical reference to the clinician when they need it most, leading to better patient outcomes.

MobileOCT transforms any camera into a powerful epithelial cancer discerning device, making possible a life-saving diagnosis for those who have camera phones, but lack access to medical facilities.

VocaliD gives individuals with speech impairment a vocal identity, making synthesized speech applications more personalized and human.

Assay Depot has created an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of research services, making scientific innovation accessible for everyone.

Epibone engineers stem cells into anatomically precise, patient-specific bone tissue replacements.

Please click here for a complete list of all companies featured in The Hive.

Partnerships with industry leaders and innovators make TEDMED possible

One of TEDMED's greatest strengths is the passionate and generous community that contributes so much to make the annual gathering possible. Individuals and organizations alike contribute their time, thinking, resources, moral support, encouragement and skills, and talents because they share TEDMED's vision of a healthier world.

"Our profound and enduring gratitude goes out to our partners for their thought leadership and mission alignment in creating this powerful, global gathering," said TEDMED CEO Jose Suarez.

Abbott and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, as TEDMED's first global partners, allow TEDMED to "unlock imagination in service of health and medicine" coast to coast with TEDMED's first simultaneous, dual-coast event.

The American Medical Association, a venerable organization representing almost 300,000 physicians across America, joins forces with TEDMED this year to engage at the leading edge of the health revolution.

Stanford Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco help put the MED in TEDMED, supporting TEDMED's mission to take scientific progress and humanitarian compassion to the next level.

The California Endowment has made possible TEDMED's expansion to the West Coast.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the powerhouse of TEDMED's year-round Great Challenges program, which convenes a diverse online community to explore the thorniest public health issues.

Steelcase Health, TEDMED's design partner, created the social spaces that foster health and collaboration.

TEDMED is also supported by its Corporate Innovation Patrons: AstraZeneca, Autodesk, AARP, the American Beverage Association, Blue Shield of California, Booz Allen Hamilton, Digitas Health, GE, Google, GuideWell, Pfizer and the  StartUp Health Network. These companies provide generous assistance that allows TEDMED to continue bringing together innovative thinkers and doers at its annual gathering.

Delegate Experiences: Connecting and inspiring the TEDMED community

Highlights of a TEDMED gathering include many opportunities for Delegates to explore new ideas with each other and share perspectives. Engagement platforms include the Campfire, a dedicated "social catalyst hub" in The Hive powered by Giant; Beyond the Stage, a series of opportunities for Delegates and speakers to have person-to-person discussions around the important topics explored; TableTalk Lunches, offsite culinary experiences where Delegates will explore provocative topics inspired by the stage program with Luminary Labs supporting social collaboration; TEDMED Bookstore and TEDMED speaker/author book signings courtesy of Politics and Prose in Washington, DC and Book Passage in San Francisco; Simulcast and Social Lounges supported by TEDMED's global, contributing and host city partners; Imagination Community Art Installation reflecting the TEDMED community's global response to the question, "How do you imagine a healthier world?" powered by TBWA\WorldHealth, which also developed the TEDMED mobile app; Lab Testing Reinvented by Theranos; The Great Challenges Program, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Bacteriography, a pop-style, bacteria-based art exhibit created by speaker Zachary Copfer; and Evening Celebrations, TEDMED's popular social dinners at iconic offsite venues in each city.

About TEDMED:
TEDMED is the annual multi-disciplinary gathering where leaders from all sectors of society come together to explore the promise of technology and potential of human achievement in health and medicine. Bringing together doctors, patients, policymakers, technologists, educators, students, media, researchers, innovators, and many others, TEDMED shares and celebrates the best of what the world has to offer in health and medicine.

TEDMED, LLC is an independent organization. The TED logo is used under an exclusive license from the nonprofit TED conference. Jay Walker has served as the Curator and Chairman of TEDMED since 2011. Mr. Walker is also the founder of Priceline.com. For more information, please visit www.TEDMED.com.

TEDMED Press Contacts:

Jen Newman
TEDMED
917-587-9462
[email protected]

Sallie Olmsted / Aida Abramyan
Rogers & Cowan for TEDMED 2014
310-854-8124 / 310-854-8126
[email protected] /[email protected]

SOURCE TEDMED

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