Emma Slade, author or Set Free and founder of the charity Opening Your Heart to Bhutan, talks about her path to buddhist, and the situation in which she found herself which caused this change. Emma was previously a successful investment banker and talks about the dichotomy between her current life and her previous occupation, and how this has allowed her to view the world in a fresh light.

Emma was born in Kent and was educated at universities in Cambridge and London. She had an exciting international career in finance which she committed to with mental drive and a tasteful selection of suits. But a deep seated desire to enquire into the deeper aspects of what it is to be a human being was brought to the surface following a life-changing visit to Jakarta, Indonesia. She resigned from her financial career and began travelling and exploring yoga and meditation. Since then she has taught yoga and meditation for over 15 years and continued to deepen a life — long interest in Buddhism.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

Every organ and even every cell in our body has circadian or 24 h clock. Circadian clocks turn on and off thousands of genes at the right time of the day or night. These rhythms work together to maintain healthy balance of brain chemicals, hormones, and nutrients. When our rhythms break down we are more likely to suffer from a wide range of diseases from depression to cancer. We can tune our daily habits of eating, sleeping or getting the right amount of light to sustain our circadian rhythms. Healthy rhythms nurture healthy body and healthy mind. Dr. Satchidananda Panda, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Satchin’s work deals specifically with the timing of food and it’s relationship with our biological clocks governed by circadian rhythm and also the circadian rhythm in general.

Professor Panda explores the genes, molecules and cells that keep the whole body on the same circadian clock. A section of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) lies at the center of the body’s master clock and gets input directly from light sensors in the eyes, keeping the rest of the body on schedule. Panda discovered how these light sensors work, as well as how cellular timekeepers in other parts of the body function. He also uncovered a novel blue light sensor in the retina that measures ambient light level and sets the time to go to sleep and wake up every day.

In the process of exploring how the liver’s daily cycles work, Panda found that mice which eat within a set amount of time (12 hours) resulted in slimmer, healthier mice than those who ate the same number of calories in a larger window of time, showing that when one eats may be as important as what one eats. If the benefits of this “12-hour diet” hold true in humans, it could have profound impacts on treating overeating disorders, diabetes and obesity.

The circadian clock, he found, even mediates the immune system. Mice with a crucial circadian molecule missing had higher levels of inflammation in their bodies than other mice, suggesting that genes and molecules involved in the circadian clock could be drug targets for conditions linked to inflammation, such as infections or cancer. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Narda Pitkethly created a system that profoundly simplifies learning how to read. Watch how her system reduces illiteracy and many of its negative consequences. Narda Pitkethly moved to Japan after college and discovered the Japanese had created a simple method of learning to read, called Hiragana. Through their method, Narda learned to read Japanese in a week. Within three months, her comprehension allowed her to communicate freely in her home city of Fukuoka.
In 1988 Narda moved from Japan to Sun Valley because the small community and year-round outdoor activities enticed her. An accomplished glassblower, she often travels to Boise to create works of art.
When her daughter was identified as a challenged reader in the first grade, Narda discovered that English is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn to read, even for native speakers. Narda analyzed the English alphabet to understand why it is so difficult (1 in 4 children grow up without learning to read). She organized the letters in the same way the Japanese organized their Hiragana characters. Narda reveals an approach to the English language you have never seen before. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Scott is a speed-reading, vegetarian, holistic learning, productivity hacking recent university graduate. And, for the last five years hes been experimenting to find out how to get more from life. His current project is to learn MITs 4-year curriculum for computer science in 12 months, without taking any classes. Scott earned his Bachelor of Commerce Honors from the University of Manitoba and his blog features more than 850 articles and books focused on «getting more from life».

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

The United States accounts for five percent of the worlds population but consumes almost 70 percent of the total global opioid supply, creating an epidemic that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths each year. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? In this personal talk, Travis Rieder recounts the painful, often-hidden struggle of opioid withdrawal and reveals how doctors who are quick to prescribe (and overprescribe) opioids arent equipped with the tools to eventually get people off the meds. Travis Rieder, PhD, is the Assistant Director for Education Initiatives, Director of the Master of Bioethics degree program and Research Scholar at the Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Travis’ work tends to fall into one of two, quite distinct research programs. The first concerns ethical and policy questions about sustainability and planetary limits. Much of this research has been on issues in climate change ethics and procreative ethics with a particular focus on the intersection of the two – that is, on the question of responsible procreation in the era of climate change. The second research program concerns ethical and policy issues surrounding America’s opioid epidemic.

In addition to his more scholarly writing, Travis is firmly committed to doing bioethics with the public. He writes regularly for The Conversation and blogs occasionally at The Huffington Post and the Berman Institute Bioethics Bulletin. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Russ Altman uses computer technology to explore how our genes affect the ways our bodies respond to drugs.

A Stanford professor of bioengineering, genetics and medicine, Altman leads Simbios, an NIH Center for Biomedical Computation, and holds a BA from Harvard College, an MD from Stanford Medical School and a PhD in medical information sciences from Stanford. Altman received the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and Stanford Medical Schools graduate teaching award. He chairs the Science Board advising the Food and Drug Administration and is a founder of Personalis Inc.

The Opioid Crisis has been more than two decades in the making. It’s time for us to move from problem to solution. We have to look at the major forces that are tragically taking more lives daily and get to the root cause. A public call for help! Dr. Manal Fakhoury is President and CEO of Fakhoury Leadership International, with over 30 years of non-profit and leadership experience, she serves on many community and national boards.
Manal is also a consultant pharmacist, inspirational speaker, coach, trainer, and mentor. Undergraduate, and doctorate from the University of Southern California, an MBA from Webster University. Manal has been recognized with many professional and community awards including Person of the Year, Pharmacist of the year and recently Communicator of the Year. Manal was honored to participate in the Climb of Hope and summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2014. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Dr. Shah is the CEO of MyMeds (www.my-meds.com), a digital health company whose medication adherence platform engages patients, physicians and pharmacists to work together.

Technology is disrupting consumer industries across the globe. In healthcare, technology is being used to improve systems, but the new disruption will be driven by people – patients and pharmacists. Like never before, patients are demanding consumer technologies to help them become more engaged on their changing health care team. The new team brings pharmacists off the bench and puts them in a starring role to help solve one of healthcare’s biggest issues – the $300 billion problem of medication non-adherence (not taking medicines properly).

Dr. Shah is the CEO of MyMeds and a Board-certified nephrologist who practices in Minneapolis. Combining his front-line experience of understanding the multiple roles (patient, provider, entrepreneur) in a rapidly-changing health environment, and his dedication to implementing digital health IT to improve health outcomes, Dr. Shah provides a unique perspective on innovation in healthcare today. He received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota Medical School, and attended Boston University, from where he graduated with a B.A. in Cognitive Psychology with a focus on memory creation. This provided the foundation on which the MyMeds adherence platform was created to improve medication-taking behaviors. He has been recognized for his work in business, medicine and philanthropy with the Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service, 40 Under 40, Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans, and Real Power.

www.my-meds.com

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is either the greatest piece of social legislation in the history of the United States or it is an abomination inflicted on the American public that will ultimately destroy our health system. Insider Stanley Hupfeld dissects that health system and exposes the fallacies and prejudices of both political parties.

Stanley Hupfeld was President and Chief Executive Officer of INTEGRIS Health from July 1995 until 2010. Stan has spoken and been published widely for his expertise in the health care industry. He currently writes a healthcare column for a local business daily, The Journal Record. As the driving force of the nations first hospital-sponsored charter school, Hupfeld was honored in 2009 when the INTEGRIS Health Board of Directors voted to rename the school The Stanley Hupfeld Academy at Western Village.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Timon Krause, Henning Neidhardt (piano