Every year TEDxCornellUniversity hosts an annual conference on campus that celebrates the mantra of “spreading ideas that matter.” The event is completely student run, the culmination of all year planning to foster an environment where speakers teach, inspire and entertain the community. The conference will be held in Statler Auditorium on April 28 from 2-4:30 p.m.
This year, Andrew Rosenblatt ‘20 was chosen as one of seven speakers. A junior in Arts & Sciences studying biological sciences and public policy, Rosenblatt’s talk will focus on antibiotic resistance, the rise of “superbugs,” antibiotic resistant strains of infections, and how society and the pharmaceutical industry need a more innovative response than just developing new drugs, which is costly and timely.
“This is my first TEDTalk, how can you not be excited about it?” Rosenblatt said in an interview with Lou Diamond, the CEO of Thrive, a company that connects people, businesses and brands. Diamond will be hosting the Cornell conference and did a series of pre-talk interviews with students that are posted on the CornellTedX website.
During the interview, Rosenblatt attributed his love of science to his parents, a psychologist and an astrophysicist, adding that he’s “been exposed to the scientific method and asking questions to learn about things through scientific understanding.” His interest in biology was developed when he took honors biology in ninth grade, he said. “I loved the idea of how you could basically be learning about how life works from the micro level of the cell to evolution and how life evolves.”
Rosenblatt finds his interest in the intersection of medicine and policy relevant when considering the current measles outbreaks and anti-vaccination sentiment in America today.
“I was just talking to a specialist in public health and public policy at Columbia and we were talking about a case study of Rockland County and Brooklyn in how they are handling outbreaks of measles,” Rosenblatt said. While Rockland County is restrictng access to public spaces, Brooklyn has been funding maternal education on nursing and vaccination facts, he said. “It’s all playing out right now… small simple changes have a huge effect on people’s lives.”
Rosenblatt plans to go to medical school, potentially earn a master’s degree in public health, and work for a non-profit during a gap year. He said he is excited “just to see where this path takes me.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased online for $12.
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