SXSW 2026

Real Chemistry is bringing our annual Healthcare Innovation Stage back to the SXSW 2026 Conference happening March 12-18 in Austin, TX.

This multi-day program brings together bold conversations at the intersection of AI, trust, regulation, and the future of healthcare. You’ll hear from a diverse mix of biopharma and biotech innovators, health tech and AI companies, regulators and policy experts, healthcare providers, patient advocates, and more.

Learn more about the sessions below and follow the links to add to your SXSW schedule.

 Monday, March 16th:

The Last Human at the FDA: AI on a Skeleton Crew

Historic workforce cuts at FDA, CDC, and NIH are gutting review desks and lab benches. Regulators now pin hopes on AI triage engines to keep drug approvals, inspections and outbreak models on track. With capacity math and pilot algorithms already in production, we’ll discuss accountability when fewer humans oversee smarter tools. What’s the single most important question to tell if a regulatory AI is trustworthy or just a black box? Where do the FDA and CDC need outside expertise? How can orgs support, innovate or build partnerships without entanglement in ethical or bureaucratic red tape?  

Speakers:

• Leslie Isenegger, MPP, Head, Client Development, RC Resolve, Real Chemistry
• Tala Fakhouri, PhD, MPH, VP, Regulatory Consulting: AI & Digital Policy, Real-World Research, Parexel
• Alan Minsk, Partner; Chair of the Food & Drug Practice; Co-chair of the Life Sciences Industry Team, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

r/Health Answers Everywhere: Who to Trust in the Age of AI?

AI, social platforms, and online communities have transformed how patients and doctors seek health information long before they meet at the point of care. But with endless answers comes a critical question: who should we trust? Join Reddit’s pharma lead, a patient advocate and former r/BreastCancer moderator, and Dr. Ania Bilski—an emergency medicine physician and VP of Clinical AI at OpenEvidence—for a candid discussion on trust, safety, and the future of care in an algorithm-driven world.

Speakers:

• Mary James, President, Analytics and Insights, Real Chemistry
• Ania Bilski, Emergency Medicine Physician and VP, Clinical AI, OpenEvidence
• Jessica Calef, Head of Health, Reddit
• Alex Bell, Patient Advocate and Moderator, Reddit’s r/Breastcancer

Healthcare Disruption: What Does It Look Like?

Healthcare is at an inflection point: soaring costs, regulatory uncertainty, and public mistrust. All signs point to change, but what form will it take? This discussion brings together leaders from across healthcare, life sciences, and technology to explore what meaningful disruption in healthcare looks like, and what it will take to rebuild trust, advance equity, and deliver innovation at scale. Drawing from experience in emergency care, communications, and technology, the speakers will imagine what a more connected future of care could look like and how those aspiring to improve it can bring it to life.

Speakers:

• Imamu “Mu” Tomlinson, MD, MBA, CEO, Vituity
• Aaron Strout, Executive Producer and Host, Reaching Higher Podcast
• Greg Eater, Director, Digital Health & Innovative Alliances, US Market, Merck
• Oriana Kraft, Founder, Femtechnology.org

Psychedelics: The Paradigm-Changing Future of Mental Health

Psychedelic treatments are rapidly moving from research into clinical practice, signaling a potential transformation in how we treat mental health conditions. This session will explore how clinical innovation, care delivery models, and advocacy are converging to reshape mental health care safely and effectively for the millions who need better options. Attendees will gain insight into the steps required to bring psychedelic treatments into clinical settings, what patient access can look like, and how providers are navigating the evolving landscape as these treatments enter mainstream care.

Speakers:

• Dr. Geoffrey Grammer, Chief Medical Officer, Neuronetics/Greenbrook Wellness Centers
• Dr. Jessica Jackson, Vice President, Alliance Development, Mental Health America
• Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky, Former Chief Medical Officer, US Medicaid Program
• Dr. Steve Levine, Chief Patient Officer, Compass Pathways

Tuesday, March 17th:

Trust & Tech: Patient-Centered Health Innovations

In the race to innovate, trust is often the missing link. As AI, data, and digital health tools transform how we diagnose, treat, and connect, the real question is: who’s shaping these innovations—and who’s being left out? This conversation brings together health leaders and community innovators to explore how centering patients and culture in design and data use builds not only better products, but stronger relationships. The takeaway: technology can’t build trust, but people can.

Speakers:

• Brandon Pletsch, President, Europe, Real Chemistry
• Josette Gbemudu, Associate Vice President, Merck Patient Health Innovation
• Simon Nazarian, System Executive Vice President & Chief Digital and Technology Officer, City of Hope
• Katie Drasser, CEO, Rock Health

The Courage to Diverge: Charting Your Own Career in Healthcare

We often look up to those who follow their own path, but the journey there was usually not as easy as it seems. This conversation will touch on the panelist’s individual experiences of charting her own career in healthcare and how she weathered setbacks along the way, while sharing practical tips for how others can draw courage to diverge in their professional journeys.

Speakers:

• Imamu “Mu” Tomlinson, MD, MBA, CEO, Vituity
• Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD, MS, Physician/National Health Advocate, Beyond Clinical Walls

How AI is Enabling a Radical Shift in Understanding Your Health

What would healthcare look like if we could connect the dots? Care today is still episodic and fragmented, without capturing the bigger picture of your health. This conversation brings together clinician and health tech perspectives to explore how interoperability and connecting disparate data, from wearables to health records, holds the promise to unlock personalized preventative health. We’ll discuss how AI-powered tools are closing data and access gaps, while ensuring data safety and privacy, enabling us to turn fragmented health information into whole person care that never clocks out.

Speakers:

• Vindell Washington, Chief Clinical Officer, Verily
• John Gerzema, CEO, The Harris Poll
• Arundhati Parmar, VP and Editor-in-Chief, MedCity News

Wednesday, March 18th:

Does Better Health Start with Dignity?

What does dignity feel like in health experiences and outcomes? Why does it matter now more than ever? We’ll explore the role of dignity as a transformative force and unpack its emerging as a vital indicator of health quality, trust and connection. Dignity is reflected in how we’re treated, heard and how care is delivered. When it’s missing, the consequences are profound. As we evolve and reimagine the healthcare ecosystem so that it works better for everyone, health dignity offers a powerful lens that reveals opportunities to improve how help make health innovation real for more people.

Speakers:

• Jewel Jones, Global Inclusion & Health Equity Practice Leader, Real Chemistry
• Ivor Braden Horn, MD, MPH, Investor, Physician, Technology Executive, Undaunted Health, LLC
• Jaime Wesolowski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Methodist Healthcare Ministries

Looking for our sessions from 2025? View our recaps and recorded sessions here.