Hasta La Motion!

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. It’s not too late to make a difference

Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein is a heart doctor with a background in electrical engineering. He innovated within the Food and Drug Administration and was recently invited by DARPA to serve as a consultant to their new Biological Tactics Office. His career as an academic cardiologist was anything but traditional, and led to international recognition as a medical researcher for pioneering work for congestive heart failure in particular, cardiovascular health in general and the design and conduct of medical trials.

Jonathan was recruited to the Food and Drug Administration, where as Associate Center Director, he led both safety and innovation programs within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. While at the FDA Jonathan forged relationships with outside partners such as the X Prize Foundation and DARPA, and launched the FDA’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program as the first to be co-sponsored by the White House. His influence at the FDA shaped a series of outward-looking initiatives with a view to looking beyond current regulatory frameworks to a new generation of connected, innovative medical devices.

Jonathan is the founder and CEO of ExVivos, established to foster development and use of medical products. ExVivos catalyzed relationships between the NIH, DARPA and pharmaceutical industry in support of tissue-engineered platforms for drug development as a potential replacement for animal testing. This research is at the forefront of current practice and represents the most progressive way of inventing new human-suitable drugs and vaccines. Recently, ExVivos conducted a comprehensive review of dietary strategies to address obesity, applying innovative statistics to determine whether standard recommendations by health authorities are the ones supported by the data. History teaches us that impact is often realized by better understanding and application of existing knowledge, the premise of this project. Following his role as Vice President for Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs at NeoStem, where he led the execution of a multi-center trial of a stem cell therapy for patients following a heart attack, Jonathan is turning his attention to the development of medical products at ExVivos.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event 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)