About Roberta
Dr. Roberta Ness is an internationally recognized physician, former academic leader, and foremost expert on scientific innovation and creativity. Her successful research career as a tenured professor of medicine and epidemiology—including her pioneering work on “gender-based biology”—took a pivotal turn when she was challenged to create “earth-shattering” scientific breakthroughs. Dedicated to this new mission, Roberta became the Vice President of Innovation at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), a position specifically created for her. Before this, she served as the Dean of the University of Texas School of Public Health. In these leadership roles, she focused on combating the “Creativity Crisis” in science and medicine, arguing that university and funding systems often reward caution over revolutionary, risky ideas. Roberta firmly believes that creative thinking is a skill that can be taught and maximized within the global workforce. She developed a systematic instructional program, detailed in her books such as Innovation Generation: How to Produce Creative and Useful Scientific Ideas (2012) and The Creativity Crisis (2014). Her online course, “Reimagining Innovation,” has been accessed by over 200,000 viewers. Now retired from her formal university roles, Roberta continues her advocacy for a more humane and effective healthcare system as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She also co-founded Fully Informed Conversations, a non-profit dedicated to helping patients and families navigate critical end-of-life decisions.
