The Atlantic and UC San Diego has once again teamed up to host The Atlantic Meets the Pacific, a must-attend event for top thought leaders in technology, the sciences, and health. Striking at the heart of health technology and innovation, this year’s event united scientists, engineers, business leaders, culinary experts, physicians, writers, and policymakers to discuss topics ranging from wireless health technologies and leaps in longevity research to the history of cancer and new approaches to food policy. Gathering in San Diego, one of the world’s nerve centers for breakthroughs in nanotechnology, cancer research, and medical device engineering, the program showcases progress being made on the frontier of health research and IT and critically examines the best policies and practices for bringing these innovations to life.
Cancer was a big topic at The Atlantic Meets the Pacific this year. In ”How Far Away is a Cure for Cancer?” Clifton Leaf, the author of “The Truth in Small Doses: Why We’re Losing the War on Cancer and How to Win It,” talks withThe Atlantic’s Steve Clemons about the future of cancer research. Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of “The Emperor of All Maladies” discusses with Clemons about what it’s like to take his best-selling book on the history of cancer to television in this live Skype interview.
In an innovative technology panel, “Domestic Drones: The Next Decade of American Airspace” Chris Anderson, the former Editor-in-Chief of Wired and now CEO of 3-D 
Robotics, talks with The Atlantic’s James Fallows about the role of drones for civilian uses. In the healthcare arena, taking responsibility for one’s body is the common theme among three visionaries in personal health in “Living Longer, Living Smarter: Innovations in Longevity Research.” Larry Smarr of Calit2 joins Deborah Szekely, the co-founder of the highly acclaimed Rancho La Puerta wellness center and Kunal Sarkar, the CEO of the brain-trainer Lumosity for an invigorating conversation with The Atlantic’s Megan Garber and Corby Kummer.
If you enjoyed these panels, browse the full list of programs in The Atlantic Meets the Pacific 2013 series.