Vega’s “The Hidden Cost of Gold” TED Talk Making Global Waves
Sabin Center Fellow’s TED Talk featured in “10 Ideas Changing the World in 2026”
We’re honored to share that Wake Forest University’s Claudia Vega, a Sabin Center Fellow, has had her TED Talk named as one of TED’s “10 Ideas Changing the World in 2026.” This highly selective list recognizes ideas with the potential to shape global understanding and responses to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Claudia Vega’s Ted Talk, linked above
Claudia serves as Mercury Program Coordinator at CINCIA (Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica), where she leads research in the Peruvian Amazon focused on the environmental and human health dimensions of mercury pollution from artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Amazon. Her work brings sustained attention to a largely unseen crisis that sits at the intersection of environmental degradation, public health, biodiversity loss, and social equity.
We’re proud to see Claudia’s work recognized at this level because it reflects what thoughtful, engaged science can accomplish. Her research addresses a extremely complex environmental and public health challenge with rigor and care. Advancing this kind of work is core to the Sabin Center’s mission.
– Luis Fernandez, Executive Director, CINCIA, and Sabin Center Senior Fellow
Grounded in rigorous science and long-term engagement with affected communities, Claudia’s research has helped elevate mercury pollution from a technical issue to one of clear international relevance — linking local realities in the Peruvian Amazon to global policy and governance imperatives.
To hear from Claudia and the other nine speakers bringing world-changing thinking in 2026, check out the full list from TED.
