Panel to discuss new ‘Future of Health’ report

Published November 21, 2023

Local and national experts will take a deep dive into what the future of health care looks like at a panel discussion at UB on Nov. 29.

Free and open to the public, the discussion will focus on some of the topics covered in the comprehensive “Future of Health” report jointly released last month by the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB and the Jacobs Institute.

The panel takes place from 3-5 p.m. in the M&T Auditorium in the Jacobs School, with a networking reception to follow from 5-6:30 p.m.

A virtual option is available. Register online to attend either in-person or virtually.

Moderating the panel will be Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, and Adnan Siddiqui, CEO and CMO of the Jacobs Institute and vice chair and professor of neurosurgery in the Jacobs School.

Panel discussions will focus on “Self-Health Rising;” “Navigating the Intersection: Politics, Climate Change and Public Health;” and “Health Equity and the Path Forward.”

In addition to Brashear and Siddiqui, panelists include:

  • Ethan Watters, senior editor, and David E. Duncan, executive editor, both of the Future of Health Report.
  • Diana Aga, director of UB’s RENEW Institute and Henry M. Woodburn Professor in the Department of Chemistry.
  • Nancy Nielsen, senior associate dean for health policy in the Jacobs School.
  • Rev. George Nicholas, pastor of the Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church and CEO of the Buffalo Center for Health Equity.
  • Kelly Wofford, director of health equity, Erie County Department of Health.

While acknowledging systemic challenges, the report shines a spotlight on advancements and opportunities that promise to revolutionize health care.

The new report is a follow-up to the 2017 “The Future of Medicine” report, which forecast disruptive changes wrought by emerging technologies and social movements on the health care landscape. Among its predictions: a global flu-like pandemic that would spur both political upheaval and a paradigm shift in rapid vaccine development.