Full Name
John Medina
Job Title
Brain Scientist
Speaker Bio
Wherever the very latest neuroscience intersects with real-world challenges facing the workplace, classroom, healthcare, and our everyday lives, you’ll find energizing insights from brain scientist Dr. John Medina. His client-customized presentations, based on his research and the findings of others, share a common takeaway: How to optimize the performance of the human brain by improving practices, interactions, and environments. Whether you’re looking to maximize productivity, enhance creativity and innovation, improve learning and engagement, design brain-healthy spaces, make better hiring choices, or understand teenage behavior, Dr. Medina unlocks solutions and explains the fascinating inner workings of the human brain with his trademark humor and enthusiasm.
Acknowledged as one of the most engaging and crowd-pleasing speakers in the world of neuroscience, Dr. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine (Department of Bioengineering). His research interests focus on the genes behind brain development and psychiatric conditions. He was the Founding Director of the Talaris Research Institute, studying how infants encode and process information at the cognitive, cellular, and molecular levels. Dr. Medina spent most of his professional life as an analytical research consultant, working primarily in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries on research related to mental health. These interests—and the ability to speak about them in plain English—span the entire range of the human experience, traceable by the 10 books he’s written. These include early childhood (Brain Rules for Baby), adolescence (Attack of the Teenage Brain), and postsecondary life/adulthood (Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving at Work, Home and School). Many have been celebrated as standard handbooks for understanding the brain and optimizing its performance. One of them, the New York Times bestselling Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving at Work, Home and School, has been translated into more than 20 languages and selected as a textbook at numerous universities. His latest book, Brain Rules for Aging Well, describes how to keep the organ sharp and fit as we get older. Dr. Medina has recently expanded his professional interests into the corporate world, from tech business practice to architecture and healthcare.
He regularly speaks on topics ranging from increasing management effectiveness to designing a creative, brain-friendly office building, from unconscious bias and sexual harassment training to how to give non-boring presentations. Partnering with the Seattle-based Venture Worxs organization, Dr. Medina regularly speaks on topics speculating what the future of work will look like if evidence-based practices—rooted in the cognitive neurosciences—are taken seriously in workplace design. He and his team work collaboratively with clients to understand their audiences and tailor their presentations to fit specific interests and challenges. Dr. Medina’s high-energy keynotes consistently receive high ratings and resounding applause. As one corporate chair praised, “He was the talk of the conference—a rare combination of brilliance and engaging presentation style.
Acknowledged as one of the most engaging and crowd-pleasing speakers in the world of neuroscience, Dr. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine (Department of Bioengineering). His research interests focus on the genes behind brain development and psychiatric conditions. He was the Founding Director of the Talaris Research Institute, studying how infants encode and process information at the cognitive, cellular, and molecular levels. Dr. Medina spent most of his professional life as an analytical research consultant, working primarily in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries on research related to mental health. These interests—and the ability to speak about them in plain English—span the entire range of the human experience, traceable by the 10 books he’s written. These include early childhood (Brain Rules for Baby), adolescence (Attack of the Teenage Brain), and postsecondary life/adulthood (Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving at Work, Home and School). Many have been celebrated as standard handbooks for understanding the brain and optimizing its performance. One of them, the New York Times bestselling Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving at Work, Home and School, has been translated into more than 20 languages and selected as a textbook at numerous universities. His latest book, Brain Rules for Aging Well, describes how to keep the organ sharp and fit as we get older. Dr. Medina has recently expanded his professional interests into the corporate world, from tech business practice to architecture and healthcare.
He regularly speaks on topics ranging from increasing management effectiveness to designing a creative, brain-friendly office building, from unconscious bias and sexual harassment training to how to give non-boring presentations. Partnering with the Seattle-based Venture Worxs organization, Dr. Medina regularly speaks on topics speculating what the future of work will look like if evidence-based practices—rooted in the cognitive neurosciences—are taken seriously in workplace design. He and his team work collaboratively with clients to understand their audiences and tailor their presentations to fit specific interests and challenges. Dr. Medina’s high-energy keynotes consistently receive high ratings and resounding applause. As one corporate chair praised, “He was the talk of the conference—a rare combination of brilliance and engaging presentation style.
Speaking At
