Leadership and the Future of Science, Technology, and Medicine

Course Description

Scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and emerging technologies have a major impact on our everyday lives in the 21st century. They provide new insight into our complex world and address a range of global needs and problems. Few pre-college students are exposed to cutting edge research that will likely lead to the future of science, technology and medicine. In this course, students will learn about some of these emerging topics: epigenetics, tissue engineering, cloning, genetic engineering, stem cell research, and medical devices. Our study of these topics will include understanding the state of the field today, the way forward, and the ethical implications for the future. Through this course, students will be inspired to be forward –thinking and socially responsible scientists, leading innovation for tomorrow.

There will be three overall aims of this course. First, we will analyze texts and other media that introduce an array of topics pertaining to the future of science, technology, and medicine in the world. Secondly, we will brainstorm how existing technologies can be used in the future to address global needs and problems. We will also discuss the ethical implications of emerging technologies. The third element of this course will be focused around the theme of 'leadership for social change' which includes the development of an Action Plan which must be presented at the end of the program. This is a challenging course designed for rising juniors and seniors that will provide a foundation for further study at university in a number of disciplines: science, engineering, and medicine. Please note: this is not a lab-based course.

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This course is part of the Leadership Institute, a two-week academic program that helps students cultivate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with effective and socially responsible leadership. This unique program consists of three integrated elements: academic content, leadership development, and the Action Plan. Our students are thoughtful and compassionate youth who are interested in social issues and creating positive change. Enrollment in this program requires several hours of online engagement prior to campus arrival. This online participation can be completed at any time where internet access is available. Once on campus, participants can look forward to full days in a community of engaged and curious learners.

Additional programmatic information may be found here.

Prerequisites: None required.

Dr. Samantha Rosenthal is a Research Associate in the Department of Epidemiology in the Brown University School of Public Health as well as an Assistant Professor in Health Science at Johnson and Wales University. She grew up in Fairfax County, Virginia. In college she double-majored in chemical and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She worked on pharmaceutical and vaccine development as a chemical engineer and developing novel medical devices and prostheses as a biomedical engineer. After her undergraduate education, she worked full-time for Procter & Gamble (P&G) in Egham, England, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Stamford, Connecticut. At P&G she developed skills and experience such as study design and implementation, innovation, and method development. Samantha then joined the Master’s in Public Health Program (MPH) at Brown University. She received the Global Health Scholarship and Foreign Studies Fellowship and traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to conduct both qualitative research in the local townships and data analysis examining the associations between alcohol misuse and risks for HIV infection (published in AIDS Care). She received her doctorate in Epidemiology from the Brown School of Public Health in 2014 with a dissertation focused on risk factors, like social media, of behavioral health among young adults. She received the Community Health Pre-doctoral Fellowship in 2011, and she is currently involved in multiple research topics including how climate change influences emerging infectious disease spread, how mobile screen time puts young adults at risk for depression and substance use, and generally how epidemiology can be used to shape health policy, research and intervene in the progression of disease.