UTHSC Hosts TEDMEDLive Simulcast

From April 10 to 13, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center hosted a TEDMEDLive Simulcast on its Memphis campus, inviting about 250 local health care professionals to participate in each day’s events.  TEDMED gathered 1,200 adventurous thinkers and doers from a wide array of medical and non-medical disciplines at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  For three and a half days, the uniquely diverse community explored the ideas, innovations and challenges that will shape the future of health and medicine for 300 million Americans and the world.

The live simulcast included 11 sessions, featuring 50 presenters and topics.  Each speaker took the stage for about 15 to 18 minutes, with very few slides, no PowerPoint and no panel discussions.  Speakers shared stories and experiences from their lives that connected the participants to topics in a personal way that was surprising.  Described as Cirque du Soleil for the mind, the HD simulcast of TEDMED gave the audience an opportunity to interact directly with the TEDMED stage and to communicate with TEDMED speakers after the conference.

Speakers for this year’s TEDMED conference included: Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health; Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street,” and Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer to The White House.  TEDMED featured entertainment from a variety of performers including singer Jill Sobule, spoken word artist Sekou Andrews, and urban acrobatics group Traces.

“I am very excited that UTHSC joins more than 2,000 simulcast locations to host this one-of-a-kind event to spark inspiration, innovation, and imagination,” said Chancellor Steve Schwab, MD.  “This is just another way for us to fulfill our research mission by constantly learning and communicating with our partners in the community and our health care constituents nationwide.”

~Dee Helton, Student Ambassador at UT Health Science Center