Sparks!: CERN’s serendipity forum brings together experts to discuss Future Technology for Health
Thursday 27 October 2022
Sparks! invites global experts to discuss the big
topics of future technology. Taking research at CERN as a starting
point, Sparks! encourages cross-disciplinary connections between
participants to tackle the challenges of the future. This is done
through talks, an innovative forum, and a podcast. Speakers range from
genomics expert Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, to chief scientist
for the WHO Soumya Swaminathan, to ethicists, technical professionals,
and researchers. Listen to the podcast from 26 October here. Watch the Talks on 17 November, livestreamed from 4.00–8.00 p.m. CET. CERN’s
continued work in medical diagnostics, imaging, therapy, and dosimetry
sets a baseline for the discussions on furthering technologies for
health. “Science, technological innovation and
health have become more interlinked than ever over the past three
years," says Charlotte Warakaulle, CERN Director for International
Relations. “As a unique forum for deep discussion on the major topics in
science and technology, the Sparks! community has chosen to delve into
future technology for health to unpack the challenges and help define
the contours of the future.” The Talks will cover
a broad range of cross-cutting topics, from the work CERN is doing on
medical imaging, to precision medicine, to mapping the human body,
ethical considerations, and ensuring equitable global access to
healthcare. The speakers include representatives from WHO, EPFL,
EMBL-EBI, Human Cell Atlas, among others. The
Serendipity Forum on 18 November will follow an innovative CERN format
whereby 50 participants with different areas of expertise partake in a
full day of plenaries, discussions and breakout sessions. The purpose of
the event is to provoke conversations about the future of technologies
for health, and what that could mean for society. Guests are actively
encouraged to make lasting multidisciplinary connections through the
Forum. Sparks! 2022 is launching at the end of
October with the second series of the CERN Sparks! podcast. Over six
episodes, the podcast explores the visions of the future shaped by
health technologies, and digs deep into the important questions around
medial ethics, equity, and open science. Podcast
speakers include Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Jennifer Doudna,
the “founding father of genomics” George Church, WHO’s Chief Scientist
Soumya Swaminathan, and the director of the Wellcome Trust Jeremy
Farrar, as well as technological experts, ethicists and more. For its first edition in 2021, the event looked at future technology for intelligence, which can be watched and listened to through the Sparks! Website. Sparks! is part of the CERN & Society programme.
CERN & Society activities are only possible thanks to the support
of our partners, in particular Rolex, which has a long-standing
association with CERN. The 2022 Sparks! event is also supported by the
Didier and Martine Primat Foundation.
For more information, see:
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