Vatican Co-Sponsors Conference "Exploring the Mind, Body and Soul" with Message from Pope Francis and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Sangay Gupta, Chelsea Clinton and More
The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and The Cura Foundation “Unite to Prevent”
Global Leaders in Science, Faith, Medicine and Technology Gather
for the Fifth International Vatican Conference
Global Leaders in Science, Faith, Medicine and Technology Gather
for the Fifth International Vatican Conference
(FULL LIST of Speakers Below)
Press Release: VATICAN CITY and NEW YORK, April 15, 2021— The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation’s Fifth International Vatican Conference will be held on May 6-8, 2021. The conference will unite the foremost leading physicians, scientists, leaders of faith,
ethicists, patient advocates, policymakers, philanthropists and influencers to engage in powerful conversations on the latest breakthroughs in medicine, health care delivery and prevention, as well as the anthropological scientific and cultural impact of technological advances.
The new virtual format three-day conference, originally scheduled to take place at the Aula Nuova Del Sinodo in the Vatican City, will be presented in dynamic, short-segment programs.
This event is the fifth in a series over the past decade aimed at exploring and enhancing crossdisciplinary collaborations to advance human health. The series has reached a wide global audience and included then Vice President Joe Biden addressing the 2016 conference in person.
In 2018, Biden also addressed the #UniteToCure conference by video.
Press Release: VATICAN CITY and NEW YORK, April 15, 2021— The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation’s Fifth International Vatican Conference will be held on May 6-8, 2021. The conference will unite the foremost leading physicians, scientists, leaders of faith,
ethicists, patient advocates, policymakers, philanthropists and influencers to engage in powerful conversations on the latest breakthroughs in medicine, health care delivery and prevention, as well as the anthropological scientific and cultural impact of technological advances.
The new virtual format three-day conference, originally scheduled to take place at the Aula Nuova Del Sinodo in the Vatican City, will be presented in dynamic, short-segment programs.
This event is the fifth in a series over the past decade aimed at exploring and enhancing crossdisciplinary collaborations to advance human health. The series has reached a wide global audience and included then Vice President Joe Biden addressing the 2016 conference in person.
In 2018, Biden also addressed the #UniteToCure conference by video.
This year’s conference will gather together a formidable group of speakers across all disciplines in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to share their insights about health, humanity and the future of
medicine.
Moderated by the following acclaimed journalists:
• Katie Couric, award-winning journalist, founder, Katie Couric Media and co-founder, Stand
Up To Cancer.
• Moira Forbes, executive vice president, Forbes.
• Max Gomez, Ph.D., senior medical correspondent, CBS2 New York.
• Sanjay Gupta, M.D., award-winning chief medical correspondent, CNN and neurosurgeon.
• Richard Lui, anchor and journalist, MSNBC/NBC News.
• Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., Emmy® Award-winning host, “The Dr. Oz Show,” cardiothoracic
surgeon, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
• Amy J. Robach, co-anchor, “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” and “20/20” reporter,
“Good Morning America” and ABC News Platforms.
• Robin Roberts, co-anchor, “Good Morning America,” ABC and president, Rock’n Robin
Productions.
• Meredith Vieira, Emmy® Award-winning host, executive producer and anchor; founder and
CEO, Meredith Vieira Productions.
• Ron Winslow, freelance medical and science writer and former Wall Street Journal medical
correspondent.
A full list of confirmed speakers is available on the conference website and as an addendum. (see below)
Conference organizers will also spotlight a conversation on “Bridging Science and Faith” by bringing together top physicians, scientists, leaders of faith, ethicists and theologians to explore the commonalities between religion and spirituality and health and wellbeing, as well as examine
the relationship between the mind, body and soul. The discussion will delve into the anthropological and cultural dimensions of being human and look for areas of convergence between the humanities and the natural sciences. Discussions around the importance of empathy and compassion, ethical implications of advances in technology, including artificial intelligence,
and the impact of innovation on anthropology are among the many areas where dialogue must occur. This important conversation is made possible through the generous support of a grant
from the John Templeton Foundation.
In addition to the John Templeton Foundation, conference supporters include Sanford Health,
Celularity, Akkad Holdings, The Helmsley Charitable Trust, Sorrento Therapeutics, Aspire Capital Partners, Hackensack Meridian Health, T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and
Compassion at the University of California San Diego, United Therapeutics, Alliance Global Partners, The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, Moderna, Inc. and many others.
The conference will close with a message for the participants from Pope Francis.
“We must consider the interplay between mind, body and soul if we hope to build a more
equitable health care system and improve human health care globally,” said Robin Smith, M.D.,
M.B.A., founder and president of the Cura Foundation. “Providing an opportunity for experts from diverse disciplines to have a dialogue and share information and compare perspectives in a
dynamic way and in partnership will inspire hope for patients, families and communities around the world. We often describe the conference as Davos but for health care; a multi-disciplinary
approach that mobilizes global leaders to examine the world’s most pressing health challenges.”
Conference topics will address technology and new innovations in health care and how to make quality health care available and affordable, how to improve human health by addressing the
mind, body and soul and how together with empathy, compassion and through the arts, we can make the environment and the world a better place. We will talk about the revolution of
telemedicine, the need to provide care to rural and underserved communities and delivering care and treatment into the home and into the community through technology and innovation that will
last far beyond the pandemic. We will learn about cutting-edge therapies, examine new regulatory paradigms in regenerative medicine, explore the medical risks of loneliness, and the
importance of improving health and wellbeing, caring for others and helping people age with dignity. Complete descriptions of all conference topics are available on the conference website.
“Once again, we bring together scientists, physicians, health care providers, social workers,
religious leaders of many different beliefs, representatives of law and industry, scholars of ethics,
anthropology and philanthropy, and others, all representing different perspectives on the world,”
said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. “No one
approach can solve the perplexing and critical challenges of our times. More lenses are needed to
bring into focus a complete picture of being and existence.”
Monsignor Tomasz Trafny, head of the Science and Faith Department of the Pontifical Council
for Culture, said, “Together we will focus on advances in medical innovation and the creation of
healthier communities and build bridges to catalyze the creation of new, interdisciplinary
approaches and partnerships for improving health, wellbeing and understanding human uniqueness.”
To learn more about #UniteToPrevent, The Fifth International Vatican Conference, please
visit: VaticanConference2021.org, Cultura.va, TheCuraFoundation.org/. Follow us on Twitter and
Instagram @CuraFdn and on Facebook at facebook.com/TheCuraFoundation. Follow the Pontifical
Council for Culture on Twitter: @VaticanCultura and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PontificalCouncilForCulture/. Join the virtual conversation with
#UniteToPrevent and #UniteToCure.
The Cura Foundation leads a major global health movement with the passionate purpose to improve
human health. Cura unites public and private sectors, partnering with doctors, patients, business leaders,
philanthropists and thought leaders to collaborate and create breakthroughs around the world. The
foundation drives change by raising public awareness, supporting research and educating the next
generation of thought leaders and medical professionals about innovations in medicine. The Cura Foundation is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, public and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, please visit: https://thecurafoundation.org/.
The Pontifical Council for Culture is a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the
relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. Established in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, the
Council is committed to the dialogue with many realities in their relation to culture and faith such as Art,
Music, Cultural Goods, Cultures in the World, Mysticism, Atheism, Economics, Language &
Communication, International Cultural Bodies, Sport and Science. For more information, please
visit: http://www.cultura.va.
The Science and Faith (STOQ) Foundation is a Foundation under Vatican law promoted by the
Pontifical Council for Culture. The Foundation aims to give continuity to the activities of Project STOQ,
which emerged from the collaboration between the Pontifical Council for Culture and Pontifical Roman
Universities following the Galileo Commission and the Jubilee of Scientists in the year 2000. Among the
aims of the Foundation are research and study of the themes of dialogue between science, philosophy and
theology; realization of conferences and other activities of high cultural and scientific value, even at the
popular level; publication of works of merit on the main arguments of the science-faith dialogue.
Stem for Life, a Cura Foundation is the educational and advocacy subsidiary of the Cura Foundation
and is devoted to fostering global awareness of the potential for regenerative medicine to treat and cure a
range of deadly diseases and debilitating medical conditions, as opposed to merely treating their
symptoms. The Foundation stands at the forefront of a fundamental shift away from traditional drug
treatment in favor of amplifying the body's natural repair mechanisms to vanquish disease. For more
information, please visit: http://www.stemforlife.org.
Contacts:
Scott Circle Communications
curapress@scottcircle.com
FULL LIST of Speakers:
Addendum - The Fifth International Vatican Conference Speakers 2021 as of April 15:
Rabbi Elie Abadie, M.D., senior rabbi, Jewish
Council of the Emirates and Association of Gulf
Jewish Communities.
Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., former principal
deputy commissioner and acting chief
information officer, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
Micah Aberson, executive vice president,
Sanford Health.
Gina Agiostratidou, Ph.D., program director,
Type 1 diabetes program, The Leona M. and
Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Rick Anderson, president and general manager,
North America, DarioHealth.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna.
Justin L. Barrett, Ph.D., president, Blueprint
1543, honorary professor of theology and the
sciences, St. Andrews University, School of
Divinity.
Nir Barzilai, M.D., The Rennert Chair of Aging
Research, professor of medicine and genetics
and director, Nathan Shock Center of Excellence
in the Biology of Aging, Albert Einstein College
of Medicine.
Marc Benioff, chair and CEO, Salesforce.
Paul Bloom, Ph.D., Brooks and Suzanne Ragen
Professor of Psychology, Yale University.
Emma Bloomberg, founder and CEO,
Murmuration.
Albert Bourla, D.V.M., Ph.D., chair and CEO,
Pfizer.
Otis W. Brawley, M.D., Bloomberg
Distinguished Professor of oncology and
epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University.
Dan Buettner, founder, Blue Zones.
Jonathan J. Bush, Jr., executive chair, Firefly
Health.
Deepak Chopra, M.D., founder, The Chopra
Foundation and founder, Chopra Global.
George Church, Ph.D., founding core faculty
and lead, Wyss Institute, Harvard University;
professor of genetics, Harvard Medical School;
professor of health sciences and technology,
Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Ellen Wright Clayton, M.D., J.D.,
Craig-Weaver Professor of pediatrics and
professor of health policy, Center for
Biomedical Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center and professor of law,
Vanderbilt School of Law.
Chelsea Clinton, D.Phil., M.P.H., vice chair,
Clinton Foundation.
Kelly L. Close, co-founder and chair of the
board, The diaTribe Foundation.
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director, U.S.
National Institutes of Health.
Cindy Crawford, model and entrepreneur.
John F. Crowley, chair of the board and CEO,
Amicus Therapeutics, Inc.
Ray Dalio, founder, co-chair and co-chief
information officer, Bridgewater Associates,
New York Times best-selling author of
“Principles: Life & Work.”
Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., professor of
psychology and psychiatry, and founder and
director of the Center for Healthy Minds,
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Grand Hospitaller, H.E. Dominique Prince de
La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Bailiff Grand
Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience,
The Sovereign Order of Malta.
5
Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., Distinguished
University Professor and past president, MD
Anderson Cancer Center.
Joseph M. DeVivo, president, hospital and
health systems, Teladoc Health.
Spencer P. Eccles, co-founder and managing
partner, The Cynosure Group.
Rev. Terrence P. Ehrman, C.S.C., Ph.D.,
visiting assistant teaching professor, department
of theology, University of Notre Dame.
Michael E. Farkouh, M.D., Peter Munk Chair
in Multinational Clinical Trials; director, Heart
& Stroke/Richard Lewar Centre of Excellence;
vice-chair, research and professor of medicine,
department of medicine, University of Toronto.
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., Kolokotrones
University professor and chair, department of
global health and social medicine, Harvard
Medical School; co-founder and chief strategist,
Partners In Health.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S.
National Institutes of Health.
Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO, Epic.
David Feinberg, M.D., vice president, head of
Google Health, Google.
Rev. Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., John A.
Creighton University Professor and chair,
department of medical humanities, Creighton
University.
Renée Fleming, soprano; arts and health
advocate; artistic advisor, John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts.
Robert C. Garrett, CEO, Hackensack Meridian
Health.
Rebekah E. Gee, M.D., CEO, Louisiana State
University Health Care Services; former
secretary, Louisiana Department of Health.
Marilyn Glassberg, M.D., division chief of
pulmonary medicine, critical care and sleep
medicine; senior director of clinical research for
strategy and growth, department of internal
medicine, University of Arizona College of
Medicine.
Laurie H. Glimcher, M.D., president and CEO,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Richard and
Susan Smith professor of medicine, Harvard
Medical School, director, Dana-Farber/Harvard
Cancer Center.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder, the Jane
Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace.
Scott Gottlieb, M.D., resident fellow, American
Enterprise Institute and 23rd commissioner, U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.
Andre Goy, M.D., physician-in-chief of
Oncology Services, Hackensack Meridian
Health; chair, John Theurer Cancer Center;
founding chair of Oncology, Hackensack
Meridian School of Medicine.
Kurt J. Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., Todd and Linda
Broin Chair for Diabetes Research; director of
clinical trials, The Sanford Project, Sanford
Research; and associate professor, pediatric
endocrinology, Sanford School of Medicine,
University of South Dakota.
Sanjay Gupta, M.D., award-winning chief
medical correspondent, CNN and neurosurgeon.
Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., founder, chair,
and CEO, Celularity.
Katherine High, M.D., president, therapeutics,
AskBio.
Marc Hodosh, founder and co-host, “LIFE
ITSELF.”
Donald Hoffman, Ph.D., professor emeritus of
cognitive sciences, University of California,
Irvine.
6
Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H., director, National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ryan Howard, founder and CEO, 100Plus.
Mark Hyman, M.D., head of strategy and
innovation, Cleveland Clinic Center for
Functional Medicine.
Elder William K. Jackson, M.D., General
Authority Seventy, The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO, AARP.
Henry Ji, Ph.D., chair, president and CEO,
Sorrento Therapeutics.
Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., president, Compassion
Institute.
Carl June, M.D., the Richard W. Vague
Professor in Immunotherapy and director of the
Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Perelman
School of Medicine; director of the Parker
Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University
of Pennsylvania.
Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., professor, Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School;
founder, Foghorn Therapeutics.
Dean Kamen, president, DEKA R&D, chair
ARMI, and founder, FIRST®
.
Allen J. Karp, executive vice president,
healthcare management and transformation,
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Kerry Kennedy, president, Robert F. Kennedy
Human Rights.
Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., president, Thomas
Jefferson University, CEO, Jefferson Health.
Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., president and CEO,
JDRF International.
Jacquelyn Kulinski, M.D., director of the
preventive cardiology program and associate
professor of medicine, Medical College of
Wisconsin.
Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., CEO, CRISPR
Therapeutics.
Timothy A. Lash, president, West Health
Policy Center.
William W. Li, M.D., president, medical
director and CEO, The Angiogenesis
Foundation.
Peter Libby, M.D., cardiovascular specialist,
Brigham and Women's Hospital and
Mallinckrodt Professor of medicine, Harvard
Medical School.
Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president and chief
strategy officer, Intermountain Healthcare.
Shelley Lyford, president and CEO, Gary and
Mary West Foundation.
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director, Center for
Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
Brandon Marshall, NFL athlete, co-founder,
Project 375 and founder, House of Athlete.
Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., director, DukeRobert J. Margolis, M.D., Center for Health
Policy, and the Robert J. Margolis, M.D.,
Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy,
Duke University.
Gary Mendell, founder and CEO, Shatterproof.
Jamie Metzl, J.D., Ph.D., founder and chair,
OneShared.World.
Matthew Might, Ph.D., professor and director,
Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute,
University of Alabama at Birmingham.
7
Maria Millan, M.D., president and CEO,
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Princess Dina Mired, immediate past president,
Union for International Cancer Control; patron
of SIOP; honorary president of EORTC; special
envoy for NCD’s Vital Strategies; member of
WHO Expert Group for the Elimination of
Cervical Cancer.
William C. Mobley, M.D., Ph.D., associate
dean for neurosciences initiatives, and interim
director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and
Compassion, department of neurosciences,
University of California San Diego.
Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., dean,
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and
Policy, Tufts University.
Michael Murray, Ph.D., president, Arthur
Vining Davis Foundations.
Julien Musolino, Ph.D., associate professor,
department of psychology, Rutgers University.
David B. Nash, M.D., founding dean emeritus
and the Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon
Professor of Health Policy, Jefferson College of
Population Health.
Timothy O'Connor, Ph.D., Mahlon Powell
Professor of Philosophy, Indiana University.
Emmanuel “Manny” Ohonme, president and
CEO, Samaritan’s Feet International.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state,
Vatican.
David A. Pearce, Ph.D., president of innovation
and research, Sanford Health.
Andrew Pecora, M.D., CEO, Outcomes Matter
Innovations and director, Celularity.
Joe Perry, lead guitarist, GRAMMY® Award winning songwriter and co-founder of the
American Rock and Roll Band, Aerosmith.
Rosalind Picard, Sc.D., professor, MIT Media
Lab; chief scientist and chair, Empatica
Renato Poletti, president, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation and president, Foundation
for Heritage and Cultural and Artistic Activities
of the Church.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president,
Pontifical Council for Culture.
Elder Dale G. Renlund, M.D., Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
David C. Rhew, M.D., chief medical officer and
vice president of healthcare, Worldwide
Commercial Business, Microsoft.
Walter Ricciardi, M.D., full professor in
hygiene, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore,
Rome; president, Mission Board for Cancer of
the European Commission; president, World
Federation of Public Health Associations.
Sheri L. Robb, Ph.D., professor, Indiana
University School of Nursing.
Robert S. Rosenson, M.D., Director of
Metabolism and Lipids, professor of medicine
and cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai.
Frank J. Sasinowski, J.D., M.P.H., director,
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara.
Roy Schoenberg, M.D., M.P.H., president and
co-CEO, Amwell.
John Sculley, managing partner, Sculley
Advisors.
Stephen Shaya, M.D., managing director,
Akkad Holdings; executive servant leader, J&B
Medical.
Jerrell W. Shelton, chair, president and CEO,
Cryoport.
8
William Shrank, M.D., chief medical and
corporate affairs officer, Humana.
Bernard Siegel, J.D., executive director,
Regenerative Medicine Foundation.
David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., professor, department
of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn
Center for Biology of Aging Research, Harvard
Medical School.
Robin L. Smith, M.D., founder, president, and
chair, Cura Foundation and Stem for Life; vice
president and director, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation.
Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., Joseph P. and Rose F.
Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard
Medical School.
Edward A. Tenthoff, managing director, senior
biotechnology research analyst, Piper Sandler
and Companies.
Cristian Tomasetti, Ph.D., associate professor
of oncology and biostatistics, Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of
Public Health.
Monsignor Tomasz Trafny, head of science
and faith department, Pontifical Council for
Culture, and general secretary, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation.
Donato J. Tramuto, founder and chair, Health
eVillages; founder and chair, Tramuto
Foundation; author and health care activist.
Stephen Trzeciak, M.D., professor, chair and
chief of medicine, Cooper University Health
Care, Cooper Medical School of Rowan
University.
Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, vice
chancellor, Pontifical Academy of Sciences and
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., president,
Samaritan Health Initiatives; former
Commissioner U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and 12th Director, National
Cancer Institute.
Warren J. von Eschenbach, Ph.D.,
associate vice president and assistant provost;
associate teaching professor, department of
philosophy and department of information
technology, analytics & operations, University
of Notre Dame.
Jill Weimer, Ph.D., senior director of
therapeutic development, Sanford Research.
Michael R. Yeaman, Ph.D., professor and chief
of molecular medicine, UCLA School of
Medicine; director, Institute for Infection &
Immunity, Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA;
chair, medical sciences, Guthy-Jackson
Charitable Foundation.
Shaykh Asim Yusuf, M.B., Ch.B., chair, British
Board of Scholars and Imams and fellow, Royal
College of Psychiatrists.
medicine.
Moderated by the following acclaimed journalists:
• Katie Couric, award-winning journalist, founder, Katie Couric Media and co-founder, Stand
Up To Cancer.
• Moira Forbes, executive vice president, Forbes.
• Max Gomez, Ph.D., senior medical correspondent, CBS2 New York.
• Sanjay Gupta, M.D., award-winning chief medical correspondent, CNN and neurosurgeon.
• Richard Lui, anchor and journalist, MSNBC/NBC News.
• Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., Emmy® Award-winning host, “The Dr. Oz Show,” cardiothoracic
surgeon, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
• Amy J. Robach, co-anchor, “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” and “20/20” reporter,
“Good Morning America” and ABC News Platforms.
• Robin Roberts, co-anchor, “Good Morning America,” ABC and president, Rock’n Robin
Productions.
• Meredith Vieira, Emmy® Award-winning host, executive producer and anchor; founder and
CEO, Meredith Vieira Productions.
• Ron Winslow, freelance medical and science writer and former Wall Street Journal medical
correspondent.
A full list of confirmed speakers is available on the conference website and as an addendum. (see below)
Conference organizers will also spotlight a conversation on “Bridging Science and Faith” by bringing together top physicians, scientists, leaders of faith, ethicists and theologians to explore the commonalities between religion and spirituality and health and wellbeing, as well as examine
the relationship between the mind, body and soul. The discussion will delve into the anthropological and cultural dimensions of being human and look for areas of convergence between the humanities and the natural sciences. Discussions around the importance of empathy and compassion, ethical implications of advances in technology, including artificial intelligence,
and the impact of innovation on anthropology are among the many areas where dialogue must occur. This important conversation is made possible through the generous support of a grant
from the John Templeton Foundation.
In addition to the John Templeton Foundation, conference supporters include Sanford Health,
Celularity, Akkad Holdings, The Helmsley Charitable Trust, Sorrento Therapeutics, Aspire Capital Partners, Hackensack Meridian Health, T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and
Compassion at the University of California San Diego, United Therapeutics, Alliance Global Partners, The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, Moderna, Inc. and many others.
The conference will close with a message for the participants from Pope Francis.
“We must consider the interplay between mind, body and soul if we hope to build a more
equitable health care system and improve human health care globally,” said Robin Smith, M.D.,
M.B.A., founder and president of the Cura Foundation. “Providing an opportunity for experts from diverse disciplines to have a dialogue and share information and compare perspectives in a
dynamic way and in partnership will inspire hope for patients, families and communities around the world. We often describe the conference as Davos but for health care; a multi-disciplinary
approach that mobilizes global leaders to examine the world’s most pressing health challenges.”
Conference topics will address technology and new innovations in health care and how to make quality health care available and affordable, how to improve human health by addressing the
mind, body and soul and how together with empathy, compassion and through the arts, we can make the environment and the world a better place. We will talk about the revolution of
telemedicine, the need to provide care to rural and underserved communities and delivering care and treatment into the home and into the community through technology and innovation that will
last far beyond the pandemic. We will learn about cutting-edge therapies, examine new regulatory paradigms in regenerative medicine, explore the medical risks of loneliness, and the
importance of improving health and wellbeing, caring for others and helping people age with dignity. Complete descriptions of all conference topics are available on the conference website.
“Once again, we bring together scientists, physicians, health care providers, social workers,
religious leaders of many different beliefs, representatives of law and industry, scholars of ethics,
anthropology and philanthropy, and others, all representing different perspectives on the world,”
said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. “No one
approach can solve the perplexing and critical challenges of our times. More lenses are needed to
bring into focus a complete picture of being and existence.”
Monsignor Tomasz Trafny, head of the Science and Faith Department of the Pontifical Council
for Culture, said, “Together we will focus on advances in medical innovation and the creation of
healthier communities and build bridges to catalyze the creation of new, interdisciplinary
approaches and partnerships for improving health, wellbeing and understanding human uniqueness.”
To learn more about #UniteToPrevent, The Fifth International Vatican Conference, please
visit: VaticanConference2021.org, Cultura.va, TheCuraFoundation.org/. Follow us on Twitter and
Instagram @CuraFdn and on Facebook at facebook.com/TheCuraFoundation. Follow the Pontifical
Council for Culture on Twitter: @VaticanCultura and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PontificalCouncilForCulture/. Join the virtual conversation with
#UniteToPrevent and #UniteToCure.
The Cura Foundation leads a major global health movement with the passionate purpose to improve
human health. Cura unites public and private sectors, partnering with doctors, patients, business leaders,
philanthropists and thought leaders to collaborate and create breakthroughs around the world. The
foundation drives change by raising public awareness, supporting research and educating the next
generation of thought leaders and medical professionals about innovations in medicine. The Cura Foundation is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, public and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, please visit: https://thecurafoundation.org/.
The Pontifical Council for Culture is a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the
relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. Established in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, the
Council is committed to the dialogue with many realities in their relation to culture and faith such as Art,
Music, Cultural Goods, Cultures in the World, Mysticism, Atheism, Economics, Language &
Communication, International Cultural Bodies, Sport and Science. For more information, please
visit: http://www.cultura.va.
The Science and Faith (STOQ) Foundation is a Foundation under Vatican law promoted by the
Pontifical Council for Culture. The Foundation aims to give continuity to the activities of Project STOQ,
which emerged from the collaboration between the Pontifical Council for Culture and Pontifical Roman
Universities following the Galileo Commission and the Jubilee of Scientists in the year 2000. Among the
aims of the Foundation are research and study of the themes of dialogue between science, philosophy and
theology; realization of conferences and other activities of high cultural and scientific value, even at the
popular level; publication of works of merit on the main arguments of the science-faith dialogue.
Stem for Life, a Cura Foundation is the educational and advocacy subsidiary of the Cura Foundation
and is devoted to fostering global awareness of the potential for regenerative medicine to treat and cure a
range of deadly diseases and debilitating medical conditions, as opposed to merely treating their
symptoms. The Foundation stands at the forefront of a fundamental shift away from traditional drug
treatment in favor of amplifying the body's natural repair mechanisms to vanquish disease. For more
information, please visit: http://www.stemforlife.org.
Contacts:
Scott Circle Communications
curapress@scottcircle.com
FULL LIST of Speakers:
Addendum - The Fifth International Vatican Conference Speakers 2021 as of April 15:
Rabbi Elie Abadie, M.D., senior rabbi, Jewish
Council of the Emirates and Association of Gulf
Jewish Communities.
Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., former principal
deputy commissioner and acting chief
information officer, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
Micah Aberson, executive vice president,
Sanford Health.
Gina Agiostratidou, Ph.D., program director,
Type 1 diabetes program, The Leona M. and
Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Rick Anderson, president and general manager,
North America, DarioHealth.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna.
Justin L. Barrett, Ph.D., president, Blueprint
1543, honorary professor of theology and the
sciences, St. Andrews University, School of
Divinity.
Nir Barzilai, M.D., The Rennert Chair of Aging
Research, professor of medicine and genetics
and director, Nathan Shock Center of Excellence
in the Biology of Aging, Albert Einstein College
of Medicine.
Marc Benioff, chair and CEO, Salesforce.
Paul Bloom, Ph.D., Brooks and Suzanne Ragen
Professor of Psychology, Yale University.
Emma Bloomberg, founder and CEO,
Murmuration.
Albert Bourla, D.V.M., Ph.D., chair and CEO,
Pfizer.
Otis W. Brawley, M.D., Bloomberg
Distinguished Professor of oncology and
epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University.
Dan Buettner, founder, Blue Zones.
Jonathan J. Bush, Jr., executive chair, Firefly
Health.
Deepak Chopra, M.D., founder, The Chopra
Foundation and founder, Chopra Global.
George Church, Ph.D., founding core faculty
and lead, Wyss Institute, Harvard University;
professor of genetics, Harvard Medical School;
professor of health sciences and technology,
Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Ellen Wright Clayton, M.D., J.D.,
Craig-Weaver Professor of pediatrics and
professor of health policy, Center for
Biomedical Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center and professor of law,
Vanderbilt School of Law.
Chelsea Clinton, D.Phil., M.P.H., vice chair,
Clinton Foundation.
Kelly L. Close, co-founder and chair of the
board, The diaTribe Foundation.
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director, U.S.
National Institutes of Health.
Cindy Crawford, model and entrepreneur.
John F. Crowley, chair of the board and CEO,
Amicus Therapeutics, Inc.
Ray Dalio, founder, co-chair and co-chief
information officer, Bridgewater Associates,
New York Times best-selling author of
“Principles: Life & Work.”
Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., professor of
psychology and psychiatry, and founder and
director of the Center for Healthy Minds,
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Grand Hospitaller, H.E. Dominique Prince de
La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Bailiff Grand
Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience,
The Sovereign Order of Malta.
5
Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., Distinguished
University Professor and past president, MD
Anderson Cancer Center.
Joseph M. DeVivo, president, hospital and
health systems, Teladoc Health.
Spencer P. Eccles, co-founder and managing
partner, The Cynosure Group.
Rev. Terrence P. Ehrman, C.S.C., Ph.D.,
visiting assistant teaching professor, department
of theology, University of Notre Dame.
Michael E. Farkouh, M.D., Peter Munk Chair
in Multinational Clinical Trials; director, Heart
& Stroke/Richard Lewar Centre of Excellence;
vice-chair, research and professor of medicine,
department of medicine, University of Toronto.
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., Kolokotrones
University professor and chair, department of
global health and social medicine, Harvard
Medical School; co-founder and chief strategist,
Partners In Health.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S.
National Institutes of Health.
Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO, Epic.
David Feinberg, M.D., vice president, head of
Google Health, Google.
Rev. Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., John A.
Creighton University Professor and chair,
department of medical humanities, Creighton
University.
Renée Fleming, soprano; arts and health
advocate; artistic advisor, John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts.
Robert C. Garrett, CEO, Hackensack Meridian
Health.
Rebekah E. Gee, M.D., CEO, Louisiana State
University Health Care Services; former
secretary, Louisiana Department of Health.
Marilyn Glassberg, M.D., division chief of
pulmonary medicine, critical care and sleep
medicine; senior director of clinical research for
strategy and growth, department of internal
medicine, University of Arizona College of
Medicine.
Laurie H. Glimcher, M.D., president and CEO,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Richard and
Susan Smith professor of medicine, Harvard
Medical School, director, Dana-Farber/Harvard
Cancer Center.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder, the Jane
Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace.
Scott Gottlieb, M.D., resident fellow, American
Enterprise Institute and 23rd commissioner, U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.
Andre Goy, M.D., physician-in-chief of
Oncology Services, Hackensack Meridian
Health; chair, John Theurer Cancer Center;
founding chair of Oncology, Hackensack
Meridian School of Medicine.
Kurt J. Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., Todd and Linda
Broin Chair for Diabetes Research; director of
clinical trials, The Sanford Project, Sanford
Research; and associate professor, pediatric
endocrinology, Sanford School of Medicine,
University of South Dakota.
Sanjay Gupta, M.D., award-winning chief
medical correspondent, CNN and neurosurgeon.
Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., founder, chair,
and CEO, Celularity.
Katherine High, M.D., president, therapeutics,
AskBio.
Marc Hodosh, founder and co-host, “LIFE
ITSELF.”
Donald Hoffman, Ph.D., professor emeritus of
cognitive sciences, University of California,
Irvine.
6
Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H., director, National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ryan Howard, founder and CEO, 100Plus.
Mark Hyman, M.D., head of strategy and
innovation, Cleveland Clinic Center for
Functional Medicine.
Elder William K. Jackson, M.D., General
Authority Seventy, The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO, AARP.
Henry Ji, Ph.D., chair, president and CEO,
Sorrento Therapeutics.
Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., president, Compassion
Institute.
Carl June, M.D., the Richard W. Vague
Professor in Immunotherapy and director of the
Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Perelman
School of Medicine; director of the Parker
Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University
of Pennsylvania.
Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., professor, Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School;
founder, Foghorn Therapeutics.
Dean Kamen, president, DEKA R&D, chair
ARMI, and founder, FIRST®
.
Allen J. Karp, executive vice president,
healthcare management and transformation,
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Kerry Kennedy, president, Robert F. Kennedy
Human Rights.
Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., president, Thomas
Jefferson University, CEO, Jefferson Health.
Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., president and CEO,
JDRF International.
Jacquelyn Kulinski, M.D., director of the
preventive cardiology program and associate
professor of medicine, Medical College of
Wisconsin.
Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., CEO, CRISPR
Therapeutics.
Timothy A. Lash, president, West Health
Policy Center.
William W. Li, M.D., president, medical
director and CEO, The Angiogenesis
Foundation.
Peter Libby, M.D., cardiovascular specialist,
Brigham and Women's Hospital and
Mallinckrodt Professor of medicine, Harvard
Medical School.
Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president and chief
strategy officer, Intermountain Healthcare.
Shelley Lyford, president and CEO, Gary and
Mary West Foundation.
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director, Center for
Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
Brandon Marshall, NFL athlete, co-founder,
Project 375 and founder, House of Athlete.
Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., director, DukeRobert J. Margolis, M.D., Center for Health
Policy, and the Robert J. Margolis, M.D.,
Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy,
Duke University.
Gary Mendell, founder and CEO, Shatterproof.
Jamie Metzl, J.D., Ph.D., founder and chair,
OneShared.World.
Matthew Might, Ph.D., professor and director,
Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute,
University of Alabama at Birmingham.
7
Maria Millan, M.D., president and CEO,
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Princess Dina Mired, immediate past president,
Union for International Cancer Control; patron
of SIOP; honorary president of EORTC; special
envoy for NCD’s Vital Strategies; member of
WHO Expert Group for the Elimination of
Cervical Cancer.
William C. Mobley, M.D., Ph.D., associate
dean for neurosciences initiatives, and interim
director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and
Compassion, department of neurosciences,
University of California San Diego.
Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., dean,
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and
Policy, Tufts University.
Michael Murray, Ph.D., president, Arthur
Vining Davis Foundations.
Julien Musolino, Ph.D., associate professor,
department of psychology, Rutgers University.
David B. Nash, M.D., founding dean emeritus
and the Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon
Professor of Health Policy, Jefferson College of
Population Health.
Timothy O'Connor, Ph.D., Mahlon Powell
Professor of Philosophy, Indiana University.
Emmanuel “Manny” Ohonme, president and
CEO, Samaritan’s Feet International.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state,
Vatican.
David A. Pearce, Ph.D., president of innovation
and research, Sanford Health.
Andrew Pecora, M.D., CEO, Outcomes Matter
Innovations and director, Celularity.
Joe Perry, lead guitarist, GRAMMY® Award winning songwriter and co-founder of the
American Rock and Roll Band, Aerosmith.
Rosalind Picard, Sc.D., professor, MIT Media
Lab; chief scientist and chair, Empatica
Renato Poletti, president, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation and president, Foundation
for Heritage and Cultural and Artistic Activities
of the Church.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president,
Pontifical Council for Culture.
Elder Dale G. Renlund, M.D., Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
David C. Rhew, M.D., chief medical officer and
vice president of healthcare, Worldwide
Commercial Business, Microsoft.
Walter Ricciardi, M.D., full professor in
hygiene, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore,
Rome; president, Mission Board for Cancer of
the European Commission; president, World
Federation of Public Health Associations.
Sheri L. Robb, Ph.D., professor, Indiana
University School of Nursing.
Robert S. Rosenson, M.D., Director of
Metabolism and Lipids, professor of medicine
and cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai.
Frank J. Sasinowski, J.D., M.P.H., director,
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara.
Roy Schoenberg, M.D., M.P.H., president and
co-CEO, Amwell.
John Sculley, managing partner, Sculley
Advisors.
Stephen Shaya, M.D., managing director,
Akkad Holdings; executive servant leader, J&B
Medical.
Jerrell W. Shelton, chair, president and CEO,
Cryoport.
8
William Shrank, M.D., chief medical and
corporate affairs officer, Humana.
Bernard Siegel, J.D., executive director,
Regenerative Medicine Foundation.
David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., professor, department
of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn
Center for Biology of Aging Research, Harvard
Medical School.
Robin L. Smith, M.D., founder, president, and
chair, Cura Foundation and Stem for Life; vice
president and director, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation.
Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., Joseph P. and Rose F.
Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard
Medical School.
Edward A. Tenthoff, managing director, senior
biotechnology research analyst, Piper Sandler
and Companies.
Cristian Tomasetti, Ph.D., associate professor
of oncology and biostatistics, Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of
Public Health.
Monsignor Tomasz Trafny, head of science
and faith department, Pontifical Council for
Culture, and general secretary, Science and Faith
(STOQ) Foundation.
Donato J. Tramuto, founder and chair, Health
eVillages; founder and chair, Tramuto
Foundation; author and health care activist.
Stephen Trzeciak, M.D., professor, chair and
chief of medicine, Cooper University Health
Care, Cooper Medical School of Rowan
University.
Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, vice
chancellor, Pontifical Academy of Sciences and
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., president,
Samaritan Health Initiatives; former
Commissioner U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and 12th Director, National
Cancer Institute.
Warren J. von Eschenbach, Ph.D.,
associate vice president and assistant provost;
associate teaching professor, department of
philosophy and department of information
technology, analytics & operations, University
of Notre Dame.
Jill Weimer, Ph.D., senior director of
therapeutic development, Sanford Research.
Michael R. Yeaman, Ph.D., professor and chief
of molecular medicine, UCLA School of
Medicine; director, Institute for Infection &
Immunity, Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA;
chair, medical sciences, Guthy-Jackson
Charitable Foundation.
Shaykh Asim Yusuf, M.B., Ch.B., chair, British
Board of Scholars and Imams and fellow, Royal
College of Psychiatrists.
Press Release: https://vaticanconference2021.org/press-releases/
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