Heather Raffo is an award-winning Iraqi-American playwright and actor who, through works like her solo show 9 Parts of Desire and the opera libretto Fallujah, is recognized for pioneering Arab-American theater and using her art to explore the emotional and political fallout of violence in Iraq and its impact on women, veterans, and refugees.
Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH became the ninth Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in August 2009. An oncologist and renowned biotechnology leader, Desmond-Hellmann holds the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor appointment at UCSF. In her role as Chancellor, she oversees all aspects of the university and medical center’s strategy and operations.
Dr. Nina Tandon is a celebrated biomedical engineer, TED Senior Fellow, and CEO of the world’s first company that grows living human bone and cartilage from a patient’s own stem cells for skeletal reconstruction and personalized medicine.
Dr. Mariana Figueiro researches and develops innovative lighting solutions—such as those used on U.S. Navy submarines and for Alzheimer’s patients—to improve human health and regulate the body’s circadian rhythm.
Gary Conkright is an American entrepreneur, engineer, and CEO who founded SmartSignal and later applied his predictive analytics expertise from monitoring industrial equipment to healthcare by co-founding and leading PhysIQ, a company that uses AI and wearable biosensors to provide personalized, early warnings of changes in a patient’s health.
Art of Motion Dance Theatre (AOMDT), based in the New York metropolitan area, is a repertory company featuring a dozen classical, modern, and street dancers performing original theatrical works by Artistic Directors Lynn Lesniak Needle, RYT/500, former soloist of the Nikolais Dance Theatre, and Olivia Galgano, former Principal of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Drawing from these contemporary and classic legacies, as well as from yoga and eastern philosophies, AOMDT creates vital works inspired by earthly and imaginary worlds. The company collaborates to explore the physics of partnering and the potential of sculptural shapes, and to reimagine lost and exotic legends based on human perceptions of life, nature and the divine.
Dr. James “Cole” Galloway directs the Go-Baby-Go project, which designs affordable, open-source adaptive mobility devices from modified ride-on toy cars to restore independent movement and promote the crucial neurodevelopment of children with motor impairments.
Dr. John Cryan is a world-renowned Irish neuroscientist who pioneered the field of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, demonstrating that the microbes in our gut profoundly influence the brain, stress, and mood, leading to the concept of psychobiotics for mental health.
Josh Stein co-founded and oversees a leading digital health company that uses patented smart pill bottles and data analytics to significantly improve patient medication adherence for specialty drugs.
Mehmood Khan, M.D., is Chief Executive Officer, Global Nutrition Group and Chief Scientific Officer of PepsiCo, the food and beverage company with the most billion-dollar brands worldwide. Dr. Khan leads PepsiCo’s efforts to create new products and categories that accelerate growth of the Company’s diversified portfolio of food and beverage brands.