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Boston, MA - June 25 to 27, 2025

Boston, MA - June 25 to 27, 2025

21Jul

Florent Groberg, U.S. Army Captain (Ret.)

Florent Groberg, U.S. Army Captain (ret.)

Florent Groberg, U.S. Army Captain (Ret.)

Recipient, 2015 Congressional Medal of Honor

U.S. Army Captain Florent Groberg (ret.), recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s top award for valor in combat is the 10th living American to receive the Medal of Honor for actions since the attacks on September 11, 2001. Captain Groberg joined the Army in 2008 and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado, as a platoon leader. In 2009, he deployed to Afghanistan as part of Task Force Lethal. Returning home in 2010, he continued to serve as a platoon leader. In 2012, he was deployed again with Task Force Mountain Warrior as captain and was selected to serve as the personal security detail detachment commander for his colonel, now-Brig. Gen. James Mingus.

In a 2012 heroic mission to stop a suicide bomber, Captain Groberg sustained the loss of 45% to 50% of his left calf muscle with significant nerve damage, a blown eardrum, and a mild traumatic brain injury. He spent nearly three years recovering and was medically retired as a captain in 2015.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Nicole Hall, R.N.

Nicole Hall, R.N.

Maternal Mortality Survivor

Nicole Hall, R.N., is a small town Texas girl born and raised in the panhandle. In 2007, Nicole met her husband at West Texas A&M University, where she studied Nursing, and they became college sweethearts. Since marrying in 2014, they now have three beautiful children; Harper (9), Hadley (4), and Haxton (2). She has been a registered nurse for 8 years working in pediatric ICU and post anesthesia care. Since surviving an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) with her last child, she started a program called “Before You Push” where she has worked with a dozen women educating them on their pregnancy and delivery.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Doug Lindsay

Doug Lindsay

Doug Lindsay

“The Man Who Invented a Surgery to Cure Himself”
Founder, Doug Says

Doug Lindsay got sick at age 21 with a rare autonomic-adrenal condition. He spent the next 11 years home- and bed-bound until he figured out what was wrong, developed novel treatments to keep his condition at bay, and eventually developed the innovative surgery used to fix him. During his 14-year medical journey, he worked with 35 senior faculty at 28 institutions, developed new uses for five existing prescription drugs, won a first national court case protecting patients’ rights, and developed the concept for the two successful, innovative adrenal surgeries used to treat his case. Once he recovered his health, Mr. Lindsay returned to Rockhurst University and finished his biology degree. Now, Mr. Lindsay is a nationally recognized speaker on the role of hope and character in innovation and life. Mr. Lindsay also provides in-depth personal medical consulting services to a small number of rare disease and complex condition patients who’ve found themselves trapped in the medical system.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Larry Hester

Larry Hester

Larry Hester

Recipient of the Argus II Bionic Eye

Larry Hester was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when he was in his early 30s. The degenerative disease blinds patients, and at the time of his diagnosis, there were no known treatments. Mr. Hester is one of several people in the United States to have a bionic eye – an Argus II Retinal Prosthesis Device. The implanted device sends light signals to his brain, allowing him to see for the first time in 33 years. Mr. Hester is eager to provide researchers with information they can use to further enhance the technology so that future generations of patients will benefit from his pioneering effort.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Carmen Blandin Tarleton

Carmen Blandin Tarleton

Recipient of one of the world’s first full face transplants
Became the first American to receive a second full face transplant in 2020

On June 10, 2007, Carmen Blandin Tarleton’s estranged husband broke into her rural Vermont home, beat her with a baseball bat, and doused her with industrial-strength lye. Doctors called it “the most horrific injury a human being could suffer.”

Ms. Tarleton spent the next three and a half months in a medically induced coma, and when she awoke, it was an unimaginable reality: She was blind and permanently disfigured, with burns covering more than 80 percent of her body. With so much taken away, no one could have anticipated what Ms. Tarleton would gain from her experience: an awakening, a purpose, and joy.

By sharing her struggles and ultimate victory over catastrophic loss, Ms. Tarleton proves that life is a choice and offers a rare glimpse into the best and worst corners of the human heart. In July of 2020, Ms. Tarleton received a second face transplant and became the first American to have undergone this procedure twice.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Rebecca Rosenberg

Rebecca Rosenberg

CEO and Founder, ReBokeh Vision Technologies
Forbes 30 Under 30 - Social Impact (2025)
2020 Graduate, Bucknell University Abell Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design

Rebecca Rosenberg first attended the Congress in 2015 with dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon. Instead, she discovered a new passion for biomedical engineering. In 2019, Rebecca founded ReBokeh, a medical technology startup working to develop assistive technologies for people with low vision. As a person with albinism, Rebecca has struggled with her vision throughout her life. ReBokeh’s products provide individuals with technology that is more personalized, more integrated, and an order of magnitude less expensive than other devices. Rebecca earned her Master’s degree and is now an Abell Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Ruchit Patel

Ruchit Patel

2019 Graduate, The Johns Hopkins University
M.D. Candidate at Harvard Medical School

Ruchit Patel is a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. He completed his Bachelor’s in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in 2019. His work has crossed translational and clinical research domains, as he led projects evaluating nanotherapeutics for pediatric brain injury and strategies to enhance recovery following critical illness. He has presented at national and international meetings to push the conversation on critical care rehabilitation. Ruchit further was the curator of TEDxJHU, where he built close ties with communities in Baltimore City while creating a platform that elevated stories and empowered individuals. The intersection of clinical care, academic research, and medical communications continues to motivate him to think about health care interventions that are both impactful and equitable.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Lewis Hall

Lewis Hall

Final Year Medical School Student

Lewis is a Final Year medical student in the UK, with aspirations of becoming a hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) and transplant surgeon. Alongside his medical degree Lewis has research interests in pancreatic cancer and other pancreatic diseases, presenting work nationally and internationally, and publishing in surgical journals. Before starting his journey through medical school and delving into the world of research, Lewis attended the Congress of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. Lewis's talk will explore his journey after the Congress to where he is today.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Deepika Kurup

Deepika Kurup

Deepika Kurup

Grand Prize Winner, 2012 Discovery Education 3M Top Young Scientist Challenge
CEO, Catalyst for World Water

Deepika Kurup, a current student at Harvard University, has been passionate about solving the global water crisis since she was in middle school. Deepika won the grand prize in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. She was also named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, was the National Geographic Explorer Award Winner in the Google Science Fair, and presented at the White House Science Fair twice. Currently, she is CEO of Catalyst for World Water, a social enterprise aimed at bringing the water purification technology she has developed to those affected by the global water crisis. Deepika has presented at national and international conferences, TEDx events, TEDWomen, and the United Nations.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…

21Jul

Eric Chen

Eric Chen

Eric Chen

First Place, 2014 Intel Science Talent Search
Grand Prize Winner, 2013 Google Science Fair
Grand Prize Winner, 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology

At 17-years-old, Eric Chen won all three major science prizes – Intel, Google, and Siemens – for his research on new drugs designed to fight dangerous strains of the influenza virus. The emergence of new highly lethal influenza viruses such as H5N1 and H7N9 poses a grave threat to the world. Eric’s project aimed to discover novel influenza endonuclease inhibitors as leads for a new type of anti-flu medicine, effective against all influenza viruses including pandemic strains. By combining computer modeling and biological studies, he identified a number of novel, potent endonuclease inhibitors. He also performed comprehensive structural analysis, laying the groundwork for further design and optimization of the anti-flu drug candidates.

Eric is currently studying at Harvard University.

Heman Bekele

Heman BekeleTIME’s 2024 Kid of the YearWinner of the 2023…

Leanne Fan

Leanne Fan Winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist ChallengeLeanne…

Carl June, M.D.

Carl June, M.D. The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy,…