The TEDMED conference ends today. But – like TED itself – the organizers will post many of the presentations made over these last few days for anyone to see.
TEDMED aspires to be the Davos of Healthcare. And the speakers addressed everything for gaming, disruptive approaches to regulating cutting edge medicines, entrepreneurship, lessons from patients drawing their children out of autism, and deep scientific issues that will take years to address.
That’s what TEDMED was about. Below are excerpts of five TEDMED talks that should make the Web and, when they do, you should rush to see.
Virginia Breen and Elizabeth Bonker: When you finally find your voice, what do you most want to say?
Perhaps the most heart-rendering talk at TEDMED. Virginia Breen talks about how her daughter, Elizabeth Bonker, lost her ability to speak at 15-months-old due to autism and the evolution of her child, her education, her poetry and how this one child, now 14, has help deliver new insights into the disease.
E.O. Wilson: Was Einstein right about imagination?
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
A legendary innovative mind, Wilson delivered a humorous, self-depricating talk urging better scientific literacy in politics young scientists to find their niche and explore it. One of his many powerful adages for new scientists: Don’t ride to the sound of the guns. Ride away from them and make your own fray.
Jonathan Glass and Nick Boulis: How do you calculate risk in treating an “incurable” disease?
Boulis and Glass have created a cutting-edge and potentially life-changing – or, in some scenarios, like destroying – innovation to try and fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The best moment is when the two physicians role play, first acting as a patient, then a biotech company and then the federal government as they demonstrate the concerns, desires and regulations that keep further implementation of their stem-cell treatment.
Marc Triola and John Qualter: Can Medical School be a “Fantastic Voyage?”
Triola, the associate dean for educational informatics at NYU School of Medicine, and Qualter, the co-founder and director of media at BioDigital Systems, gave a look at the future of medical education. The showcased and urged a new approach that moves the cadaver from a cold steel slab and into a computerized simulation that will let health professionals continue to learn about the anatomy long after they’ve left medical school.
Diane Kelly: When is research an exercise in fertility?
Diane Kelly is, frankly, a penis researche. So her talk was one-part comic relief as she showcased various animal appendages. But her research of this organ has delivered revelations into how to treat and understand other ones.
