What MIT and Harvard Science Says About Neurodiversity

Today, Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Dr. Jeff Karp. Jeff is a professor at Harvard and MIT, a biotech entrepreneur, and an ADHD-er. They talk about Jeff’s program, LIT, or Life Ignition Tools, which is a set of strategies to energize the brain, spark ideas, and ignite action. Emily and Jeff talk about metacognition and the transformative impact it can have on the lives of neurodivergent people. They also discuss the importance of intentional actions, the power of asking questions, the necessity of creating a supportive and dynamic learning environment, and the broader implications of neurodiversity in educational and professional settings. There’s practical advice for educators, parents, and individuals, to leverage their unique strengths and foster an inclusive and innovative society, and much more, on episode 231.

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Dr. Jeff Karp is an acclaimed mentor and biomedical engineering professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, a Distinguished Chair at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Growing up in rural Canada, he was written off by his school because of his learning differences. He evolved, and developed his own process for embracing life, embodied by ‘Life Ignition Tools’ – tools he developed through years of iteration and tinkering, to make his unique patterns of thought and behavior work for him. These LIT tools have been tested in his lab, and by his many mentees. He has dedicated his research to bioinspired medical problem-solving, and his lab’s technologies have led to the formation of thirteen companies.

Dr. Karp is also head of innovation at Geoversity, Nature’s University, a rainforest biocultural leadership training conservancy located in one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. He was selected as the Outstanding Faculty Undergraduate Mentor among all faculty at MIT, and the top graduate student mentor of Harvard-MIT students. Dr. Karp lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, children, and two Cavalier King Charles spaniels.

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