Erika Moore Gives TED Talk on Advancing Health Equity in Lupus Research

“I am lucky enough to work towards making our world—the one where some people heal and others scar, and some people live and others die—more understandable, more predictable, and more equitable.” —Dr. Erika Moore

Fischell Department of Bioengineering Assistant Professor Erika Moore was recently named a 2024 TED Fellow, the first ever at the University of Maryland. Selected for her remarkable achievements, the potential impact of her work, and her commitment to community building, Moore had the rare opportunity to share her story, research, and passion with a global audience through her TED Talk, which launched digitally today.

Very popular online, TED Talks give experts a platform to present “ideas worth spreading,” allowing them to widely share their knowledge in a way that is accessible, concise, and inspiring. In her Talk, Moore discusses her path into bioengineering and the critical work her lab is doing to address health disparities affecting minority populations.

A leader in women’s health research, Moore focuses on lupus, a condition of which 90% of patients are women and that disproportionately impacts women of color. Through the Moore Lab’s innovative research, she aims to contribute to a more inclusive approach to biomedical science, developing disease models that reflect the diversity of affected populations. Moore works to advance health equity in research and treatment, providing a deeper understanding of how diseases like lupus affect different communities.

In her TED Talk, Moore takes the stage to spark a call to action—one that will empower diverse representation in scientific research models and will prioritize health issues that disproportionately affect marginalized populations.