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LUMINARY LABS WWW.LUMINARY-LABS.COM @LUMINARYLABS

TEDMED 2014

November 2014

Unlocking Imagination

10 Key Themes

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10 KEY THEMES

1. Humility returns to the stage

2. Going against the grain

3. It’s about the system

4. Radically rethinking norms

5. Better delivery, not better pills

6. Innovation derived from the unexpected

7. The brain game

8. Celebrating the human spirit

9. Gender parity matters

10. It pays to persevere

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Humility returns to the stage. Healthcare leaders such as

Elizabeth Nabel, Danielle Ofri, and U.S. Army Surgeon General, Patricia Horoho, put

ego aside to embrace intellectual humility, recognize the limits of our knowledge, and

admit to errors in our current medical systems.

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Going against the grain. The TEDMED audience gave standing

ovations for those who go against the grain. Self-expression and difference were

embraced as Rosie King questioned the paradigm of “normal.” Meanwhile Sophie de

Oliveira Barata is a brilliant artist who builds prosthetics designed to stand out.

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It’s about the system. We cannot separate our human actions, the

system we live in, and our health. Researchers are now correlating human disease to

human disruption of the natural world, drawing from the animal kingdom to spur

innovation in medicine, and considering biomimicry as a design approach.

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Radically rethinking the norms. What if drugs were

decriminalized, blood tests were conducted at home, surrogacy was prescribed for

infertility, and breastfeeding reduced heart attacks in mothers? On the TEDMED stage,

norms were consistently challenged, and proposed solutions upended conventional

wisdom.

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Better delivery, not better pills. What if how a treatment is

delivered is as important as the molecule itself? Numerous speakers pointed to

improved effectiveness when shifting environmental conditions such as light, sound,

and even the use of placebos.

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Innovation derived from the unexpected. Drawing from

Cuba’s medical schools, the local toy store, and the lingerie drawer, speakers shared

discoveries from the most improbable of places, showing that innovation often occurs

outside the laboratory.

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The brain game. With science on the cusp of revolutionary advances in

neuroscience, researchers shared previously unknown brain connections, showing

that solving for health is about understanding the brain more than any other organ.

Speakers revealed that sleep provides a cleaning system for the brain, gut

microbiome are brain puppeteers, and that understanding eye movement provides

new insight into brain behavior.

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Celebrating the human spirit. Speakers infused health and

medicine with humanity and levity. Diana Nyad shared the inspiring tale of her Cuba-

to-Florida swim, while tutu-self portraitist Bob Carey and comedian Tig Notaro use

humor as a healing agent.

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Gender parity matters. More women than ever before took to the

TEDMED stage, much to the credit of event organizers who continue to dispel

the notion that STEM is a man’s world.

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It pays to persevere. During TEDMED 2010, Marc Koska presented his

vision for saving millions of lives with a single use syringe. In 2014, he made this a

reality on the TEDMED stage, as he announced WHO’s global health initiative and

policy mandating the use of safe needles.

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Photo Credits

Cover … TEDMED

Page 2 … TEDMED

Page 3 … The Alternative Limb Project

Page 5 … USA Today

Page 6 … Science 2.0

Page 7 … Karp Labs

Page 8 … Top World Post

Page 9 … Bob Carey, The Tutu Project

Page 10 … TEDMED

Page 11 … TEDMED