Mount Sinai Health System experts will lead key discussions on how climate change is impacting health and on the potential of next-generation brain-computer interfaces to provide breakthrough treatments for patients with brain disorders at this year's Aspen Ideas: Health and Aspen Ideas Festival from Thursday, June 20, to Saturday, June 29, in Aspen, Colorado. This year marks the 20th year of the Aspen Ideas Festival.
"We are very excited to be back at this year's Aspen Ideas: Health and Aspen Ideas Festival where our experts are offering several insightful conversations—from the impacts of climate change on health to the exciting potential of brain-computer interfaces, science-informed approaches to effective parenting, treatment options for long COVID, and more," said Brendan Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chief Executive Officer, and Professor and Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Distinguished Chair, Mount Sinai Health System. "Our experts are looking forward to contributing to the engaging conversations and ideas for improving health for the global community, and welcome attendees to join our sessions and learn about new ideas shaping the health of millions worldwide."
Built around festival themes that include artificial intelligence, climate change and environmental health, neuroscience, the components of a meaningful life in the 21st century, and more, Mount Sinai's conversations will broaden the understanding of health and science through innovative thinkers who are moving medicine forward to improve the health and well-being of people everywhere. Mount Sinai is a Presenting Sponsor of the Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Ideas: Health, and the only underwriter to support both events. Please note that event time and location details are subject to change; visit our website www.mountsinai.org/aspen for the most up-to-date details.
Kicking off Mount Sinai's events during this year's festival, Dr. Carr will moderate a panel on exposomics and the environmental exposures that shape a person's health across their lifespan on Friday, June 21, at 11:40 am MDT in the Booz Allen Hamilton Room within the Koch Building. Panelists will include Mount Sinai experts from the Institute for Climate Change, Environmental Health, and Exposomics. The conversation will center on climate change and how technology—including machine learning and AI models—is reshaping our understanding of what happens to the human body as a result of climate change and other environmental assaults. The panelists will discuss how learnings from these research endeavors are used to build health policies and empower individuals to make informed lifestyle choices. Panelists include:
- Itai Kloog, PhD, Professor, Environmental Medicine and Climate Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Maayan Yitshak-Sade, MPH, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental Medicine and Climate Science, Icahn Mount Sinai
- Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, PhD, Edith J. Baerwald Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate Science, Icahn Mount Sinai, and Co-Founder and CEO, LinusBio
Dr. Carr will also speak on a panel titled "From Measles to Maternal Health: Strengthening Partnerships Between Healthcare and Public Health," which will discuss ways in which the United States can meet pressing health challenges of today with well-coordinated health care and public health approaches. This panel will take place on Friday, June 21, at 4:20 pm MDT in the Booz Allen Hamilton Room within the Koch Building.
Mount Sinai will also host a panel discussion on the potential of brain-computer interfaces to help patients with brain diseases, which will be moderated by Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Executive Vice Chairman of the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees, who served as Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System for 20 years. Dr. Davis will be joined by Joshua B. Bederson, MD, the Leonard I. Malis, MD/Corinne and Joseph Graber Professor of Neurosurgery and System Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery; Isabelle Germano, MD, MBA, Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Oncological Sciences, Director of the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, and Co-Director of the Radiosurgery Program; Thomas J. Oxley, MD, PhD, Director of Innovation Strategy for the Department of Neurosurgery and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Synchron; and Benjamin Rapoport, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Precision Neuroscience. This program will take place on Tuesday, June 25, at 10:20 am MDT in the Lauder Room within the Koch Building.
Dr. Davis will also participate in a panel regarding the growth in consolidation in health care markets, including mergers and acquisitions of health care providers, and its potential impact on patient access, affordability, and quality care. This discussion will take place on Friday, June 21, at 3 pm MDT in the Booz Allen Hamilton Room within the Koch Building.
Other activities in which Mount Sinai Health System experts are participating include:
- David F. Putrino, PhD, Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for Mount Sinai, and Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at Icahn Mount Sinai, will participate in a panel on long COVID and the benefits of music therapy on health on Friday, June 21, at 10:20 am MDT in the McNulty Room in the Doerr-Hosier Center.
- Aliza W. Pressman, PhD, Co-Founding Director and Director of Clinical Programming for the Mount Sinai Parenting Center, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Icahn Mount Sinai, will participate in a panel on the topic of effective parenting on Monday, June 24, at 12:30 pm MDT in the East Lawn Tent.
Mount Sinai clinicians will be onsite to provide complimentary dermatologic screenings at the Mount Sinai Health Experience, located in The Grove at Aspen Meadows. Screenings will be available from Thursday, June 20, through Saturday, June 29. Sessions can be reserved in advance starting on Saturday, June 15, at
