Some of the sharpest minds in health innovation—including alumni and faculty from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH)—will convene in New Haven on May 28 and 29 for the annual Yale Innovation Summit.
This year’s Summit Health Track was curated by YSPH Senior Fellow and Lecturer in Public Health Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala, MPH ’06. Yelpaala said he was enthusiastic about the promise of the Summit, which will feature a host of speakers with YSPH connections.
- Dean Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, will delve into the changing landscape for health policy with former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar, Yale Law ’91. Their keynote fireside chat May 28 is titled, “Innovation in an Evolving Policy Landscape: What’s next for U.S. Health Care.”
- Yelpaala will moderate the Health Track’s May 28 opening panel discussion, “Navigating Change: How States are Responding to a Shifting Federal Health Landscape.” Speakers include state and national figures, including Dr. Anne Zink, MD, a YSPH Senior Fellow and Lecturer and former Chief Medical Officer for the state of Alaska.
- Also on Day One, YSPH alum Ren Du, a general partner at early-stage investor Heuristic Capital, will be part of a panel entitled, “Beyond ROI: How Investors and Entrepreneurs are Driving Impact Through Health Innovation.” Heuristic Capital backed Hinge Health, a provider of virtual physical therapy that recently went public.
- At noon on Day One, Yelpaala will lead a discussion with YSPH alum Mark Abraham, MPH ’23, Executive Director of DataHaven, a New Haven nonprofit that works to empower people to create thriving communities by collecting and ensuring access to data on well-being, equity, and quality of life.
- The final panel discussion on Day One, “Global Health at a Crossroads: Innovation and Investment in a Changing Era”, features YSPH alumna Jo-Angeline Kalambo of The Global Fund; YSPH Adjunct Professor Mehul Mehta of the Albright Stonebridge Group; and other global health experts.
- On Day Two, Ranney will be a guest co-host on Health & Veritas, the popular health podcast produced by Yale Professors Howard P. Forman, MD, MBA, and Harland Krumholz, MD, SM, who both have affiliations with Yale School of Public Health.
- Also on Day Two “The Climate—Water—Health Nexus: Science Policy and Solutions” will include YSPH Associate Professor Nicole Deziel, PhD, MHS and Environmental Justice Fellow and YSPH alum Anthony Nicome, MPH ’25, MHS.
There will also be a live pitch competition on Day Two of the Health Track with 11 entrepreneurs vying for top prize. Two of the teams pitching are recent winners of the YSPH InnovateHealth Yale Thorne prize.
The Yale Innovation Summit is the Northeast’s premiere gathering for innovation featuring over 40 keynotes and panel discussions over two days with more than 2,500 attendees. The Summit, which takes place at the Yale School of Management, is divided into six tracks: Health, Biotech, Tech, Climate, Civic, and Arts. Yale faculty, students, and staff can attend the Summit at a discounted rate. Registration is still open.