Friday, March 28, 2025
5:00 PM

Night of Ideas featuring Dr. Peter Hotez 
Presented with Villa Albertine & Institut Français 
Pay What You Can $0-25 | General admission chair seating 
 
Villa Albertine’s signature evening of arts and culture marathon, “Night of Ideas” will take place from March 27 through April 6 across 20 US cities. The event invites thought leaders, activists, performers, authors, and academics to engage the public in late-night discussions addressing major global issues. This year’s unifying theme is “Common Ground," prompting participants to consider how we can commit to and protect what we have in common. How can we foster authentic interpersonal connection in an increasingly digital world? In a polarized political landscape, where are our opportunities for dialogue? As extreme weather threatens our planet, how can we preserve the land beneath our feet?  Night of Ideas is presented by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and coordinated worldwide by the Institut Français. 

This year’s event at the Rothko Chapel will include events exploring common ground in pursuing health justice with performances by Texas Medical Center Orchestra and artists from ReelAbilities, and talks by French journalist-researcher Prune Antoine and epidemiologist Dr. Peter Hotez. 
 
Keynote speaker Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. is Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he is also the Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics.  He is also University Professor at Baylor University, Fellow in Disease and Poverty at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy,  Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, Faculty Fellow with the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies at Texas A&M University, and Health Policy Scholar in the Baylor Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Dr. Hotez is an internationally recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development.  As co-director of the Texas Children’s CVD, he leads a team and product development partnership for developing new vaccines for hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and SARS/MERS/SARS-2 coronavirus, diseases affecting hundreds of millions of children and adults worldwide, while championing access to vaccines globally and in the United States. He is releasing a new book in February 2025, The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning.