2023 Schedule

When he was sworn in as 25th commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration in February 2022, Robert Califf knew the assignment would be intense because he had held the post before. With its oversight of more than $2.7 trillion in medical products, food, and tobacco—one-fifth of the nation’s economy—the FDA is always under pressure. Today, artificial intelligence, breakthrough pharmaceuticals...

An entire generation of children in some of the world’s poorest countries are now protected against deadly infectious diseases, thanks largely to Gavi: The Vaccine Alliance. Impact: more than 16 million lives saved, vast healthcare cost savings, and greater global health security. A leading force behind the push for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, Gavi has played a critical role in reaching...

There is no sugar-coating the grim data on women’s reproductive health. Globally, hundreds of millions of women lack access to modern contraception and almost 300,000 women die annually from complications linked to pregnancy. Meanwhile, the incidence of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers is rising amid unconscionable disparities in outcome by race and income. Determined to drive change, activist...

A wise health consumer learns to be cautious when consulting Dr. Google, given the extent of the misleading or patently false information available online. But the internet is also an empowering source of rigorous, well-vetted knowledge, if you know where to look. Users need search engines, websites, and social media that offer ready access to trustworthy ideas and findings, and care providers nee...

Women’s healthcare has entered a promising and transformative era driven by scientific and technological innovation. The growing sophistication and personalization of genetic testing, surgical techniques, treatments, and therapies for women are ushering new advancements in breast health, gynecologic care, fertility, oncology, depression, mental health, and more. Join our panel from the front lines...

Untapped market opportunities, coupled with the recognition that many diseases exclusively affect women, or affect them differently than men, are drawing venture capitalists into women’s health. These private equity investors, often entrepreneurial women, are motivated by a commitment to gender equity, a supportive regulatory environment, and awareness that there are profits to be made. Women have...

Despite knowing that death is the common thread that unites us all, we tend to keep the topic at arm’s length. Yet acknowledging the inevitability of death, contemplating what we wish the end to look like, and sharing our thoughts with loved ones can make our final moments profoundly meaningful. Aid-in-dying legislation, the availability of death doulas to assist in the dying process, even green b...

No one is immune from the catastrophic storms, wildfires, heat waves, and drought that accompany climate change, but the risks are far greater for some populations than for others. Unstable housing, food insecurity, inadequate access to care, lack of tree canopy, and proximity to toxic emissions and other environmental hazards all intensify the health consequences. People of color, low-income popu...

Aromas can trigger memories more forcefully than any other sense. The ability to smell allows us to enjoy nature’s riches, protects us from food gone bad, warns of gas leaks, and provides the perfume of intimacy. It is also the primary communication tool that animals use in the wild. Yet the superpower of smell has historically been under appreciated, the sense people generally say they are most w...

Art tours for physicians, a choir for nurses, on-demand meditation for all healthcare workers. Clinical settings everywhere are testing support and wellness interventions to boost emotional health and tame the widespread stress and burnout among physicians, nurses, and other providers that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to strain so many. Clinical staff are reporting remark...

For decades, new therapies were routinely tested only in men, and assumed to work the same way in women. The landmark NIH Revitalization Act, with its requirement that women be included in clinical trials, rang in a new era. But on the law’s 30th anniversary, progress remains incomplete. Research into many conditions that primarily affect women are underfunded, findings are often reported in ways...

A society that dedicates resources to women is certain to be a healthier society. Ensuring equitable access to education, healthcare, and entrepreneurial opportunities can nurture family well-being and support thriving communities. Yet the pandemic dealt a bitter blow to global progress, sending 47 more million women into extreme poverty, escalating sexual violence, and undermining the availabilit...

The rapid rise of retail health presents traditional provider organizations with many challenges as they shift beyond a facility-based care model to one more closely aligned with patient expectations for convenience, affordability, and a personalized, consumer-oriented journey. It also introduces vast opportunities to leverage emerging technologies and care models to improve patient experience and...

In his new book, Rough Sleepers, author Tracy Kidder tells the remarkable story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a Boston physician who has dedicated his life to providing healthcare to homeless people. Through the doctor’s eyes, Kidder also immerses us in the lives of the unsheltered population—their back stories, daily risks, survival mechanisms, and unmet human needs. In a society that has dehumanized tho...

Few health and social welfare policy issues escape the oversight of the US Department of Health and Human Services, second in size only to the Department of Defense. Prescription drug costs, access to reproductive health services, national and domestic public health threats like COVID-19, and the epidemic of loneliness are all within its purview. As it implements the health provisions of the histo...

When the US Supreme Court rolled back the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, attention immediately turned to the health and economic significance for women forced to carry an unwanted or risky pregnancy to term. Those profound concerns persist, but a year later, numerous unanticipated consequences are also coming into focus. The tentacles of impact stretch in all directions, from new de...

It is easy to take for granted the remarkable human ability to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Yet engaging fully with these remarkable tools of perception deepens our understanding of the world and paves the way to more mindful living. In her new book, Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, author Gretchen Rubin draws on science, philosophy, li...

Storytelling is a uniquely human activity, helping us to make sense of the world, cultivate empathy, honor the past, and pass on traditions. Everyone has a story to tell, and sharing them can be an act of love, an expression of compassion, and a way to explore our humanity more fully. Careful listening also builds health-promoting connections among caregivers, family members, healthcare providers,...

Scientists and policymakers all agree that another pandemic is inevitable—and that we are still not prepared. Whether it is a COVID mutation, a bird flu, or something entirely unforeseen, the extent of the dangers we will face depends on public health, clinical capacity, the lethality of a new virus, and the ease of its transmission. Early warning systems and an equitable supply chain can reduce t...

The trauma associated with natural disasters, refugee flight, teenage bullying, or gun violence can endure for a lifetime if appropriate mental health services are not provided. Just as we don’t wait for a wound to become infected before providing treatment, so too we must act quickly to curb emotional damage before it festers. Models of mental health first aid training show us how we can equip fi...