Innovative thinking -- Can you be taught? | Roberta B. Ness M.D., M.P.H. | TEDxHouston 2011

Dr. Ness is a frequent advisor to the National Institutes for Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Department of Defense. She has taken part in several Institute of Medicine, National Academies' reports.

Dr. Ness is past-President of the American College of Epidemiology and has served as a member of its board of directors since 2004. In 2011 she became President-Elect of the American Epidemiological Society. Recently, she became the founding chair of the Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology - the first organization to coordinate joint policy actions among 14 epidemiology societies.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Starting as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs.

TEDx: The 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.