Marty Makary Keynote Speaker
- Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Johns Hopkins Surgeon & Professor of Public Health
- New York Times Bestselling Author
Marty Makary's Biography
Dr. Marty Makary is a New York Times bestselling author, surgeon, and health care expert who served as the 27th U.S. Commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, confirmed with a bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate. At the FDA, Marty led historic reforms including accelerating drug approvals, reducing animal testing, creating a new food pyramid, removing artificial food dyes, and a school lunch program to transition to healthier foods. He was also the first head of a government agency to adopt AI agency-wide. Prior to serving in government, Marty was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Business School.
At Johns Hopkins, Marty was the Chief of Islet Transplant Surgery, pioneered new surgical procedures, and founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research. For his achievements, Marty received the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and was named the Mark Ravitch endowed chair of gastrointestinal surgery at Johns Hopkins. Marty has been a visiting professor at over 25 medical schools and served in leadership at the World Health Organization. He has published over 350 scientific peer-review articles, and, in 2019, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Marty is the recipient of the 2020 Business Book of the Year Award for his book, THE PRICE WE PAY about health care costs, and his latest book, BLIND SPOTS—a #1 Bestseller— explores nutrition science, the microbiome, hormone replacement, and new health trends.
Marty has led national policy efforts to make health care more affordable, more holistic, and more coordinated, especially for vulnerable populations. His research has focused on the evaluation of new technologies, the appropriateness of medical care, and the business of medicine. He was co-founder of Global Appropriateness Measures, a national effort to reduce unnecessary surgery and medication prescribing. He also served as Chief Medical Officer of H-E-B, with a focus on healthy food and disease prevention. His current work focuses on game-
changing interventions in health care and new models of care that reduce downstream medical utilization and lower health care costs
Marty Makary's Speaking Topics
Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health
From Johns Hopkins medical expert and bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary comes an eye-opening look at scientific research on health topics that have been overlooked or dismissed because of medical groupthink.
Modern medicine has developed giant blind spots. In this keynote, Dr. Makary explores the latest research on health topics that are not routinely discussed in traditional medical settings but are central to our health.
Topics include:
- The microbiome
- Hormone replacement therapy for women
- The peanut allergy epidemic
- Eggs (and other foods)
- Blood tests rarely ordered that everyone needs
- Childbirth
- Cancer prevention
- Marijuana
- The culture of medicine
- Long-term use of GLP-1 drugs
- Medical dogma
Could it be that many modern-day health crises have been caused by the hubris of the medical establishment? Dr. Makary examines how decades of accepted medical opinion—from the belief that opioids were not addictive, to the widespread rejection of hormone replacement therapy, the demonization of dietary fat, and the overuse of antibiotics—have contributed to unintended consequences for millions of patients.
When modern medicine is guided by strong scientific evidence, it transforms lives. But when recommendations are driven by opinion, dogma, or institutional inertia, they can delay research, reinforce harmful beliefs, and negatively impact patient care.
Through compelling stories and groundbreaking research, Dr. Makary reveals some of the biggest blind spots in modern medicine and offers audiences a fresh perspective on the issues shaping the future of healthcare.
The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care - And How to Fix It
One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections, and rising healthcare costs threaten every small business in America.
In this compelling keynote, Dr. Marty Makary, one of the nation's leading healthcare experts, examines why healthcare has become a financial crisis. Drawing on original research and vivid stories from across the country, he reveals how price gouging, middlemen, and complex financial incentives have transformed healthcare into a system that often puts profits ahead of patients.
Dr. Makary explains why so much healthcare spending has little to do with improving health, untangles medical bills that are so confusing most doctors can't interpret them, and challenges the medical establishment to return to medicine's core mission of caring for people when they are most vulnerable.
In this keynote, audiences will learn:
- Why healthcare costs continue to rise despite advances in medicine
- How price gouging, middlemen, and hidden financial incentives drive up costs
- Why medical bills are often confusing—even for physicians
- How much healthcare spending has little to do with improving health outcomes
- What patients, employers, and policymakers can do to help fix the healthcare system
Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won't Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care
Based on his New York Times bestselling book, Dr. Marty Makary examines how greater transparency can make healthcare safer, more accountable, and more patient-centered.
Exploring both outdated practices and innovative approaches transforming healthcare, Dr. Makary reveals how transparency—when implemented effectively—can improve patient outcomes, strengthen trust, and drive meaningful reform.
In this keynote, audiences will learn:
- Why transparency is essential to improving patient safety and healthcare quality
- The risks of transparency implemented poorly—and the benefits when physicians and patients remain at the center
- How outdated systems continue to hinder accountability in healthcare
- The innovators and reformers working to transform the American healthcare system
- Practical insights into how transparency can help shape the future of healthcare
Drawing on the stories featured in his New York Times bestselling book and Library Journal Book of the Year, Dr. Makary offers audiences an inside look at the barriers to healthcare reform—and the opportunities to create a safer, more transparent system for everyone.
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