When you think of modern technological advances, the first thing that might come to mind is the innovation of the smartphone or self-driving cars. Maybe it’s the forward-thinking projects that Elon Musk and company are heading up at Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity.

But it’s easy to forget the major advances that are occurring in medicine. From new groundbreaking cancer treatments to unprecedented progress in big data, medicine is becoming more personalized and far more effective than ever.

Scientists and researchers have a long road ahead of them, but with initiatives like Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” or Dr. J. Craig Venter’s effort to extend the human lifespan, the future of medicine is bright. Below, we’ve compiled three Chicago Ideas Talks that look into some of the most exciting breakthroughs happening in medicine today.

A Smarter Approach to Health

David Agus is a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Souther California, and a leader in the push to leverage data to better treat illness. His first book, “The End of Illness,” was published in 2012 and is a New York Times #1 bestseller.

Finding a Cure to Cancer

What can researchers, scientists and the medical community at large do to push for a cure for cancer? Learn from a panel of experts who are helping lead the push to turn Vice President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” into action.

Extending the Potential for Human Aging

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D. was one of the leading scientists in the sequencing the human genome. Now, he is working to extend the human lifespan long beyond what it is today.