Innovative thinking skills can be taught, and although they are are not usually taught in science curricula, Roberta Ness believes they should be. In this talk, she discusses tools to enhance innovative thinking in any situation.

Epidemiologist Dr.Roberta Ness is a frequent advisor to the National Institutes for Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Department of Defense. Recently, she became the founding chair of the Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology - the first organization to coordinate joint policy actions among 14 epidemiology societies.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.