POP Talks 2025: How Medimon is revolutionizing how we learn health sciences

What if studying medicine felt more like playing your favorite game?

In this POP Talk, U of I Clinical Assistant Professor Tyler Bland, who teaches in University of Idaho’s WWAMI medical program, reveals how he’s reimagining medical education through Medimon — a Pokémon-inspired learning game where every cell, organ and disease becomes a creature to master. By blending storytelling, AI-generated imagery and cinematic case studies, Bland is turning the firehose of medical knowledge into a journey of creativity, curiosity and play.  

Tyler Bland, Ph.D., neuroscience

Bland teaches pharmacology and core medical topics. A champion of creative learning, Bland blends gamification, storytelling and AI tools to make medical education engaging and memorable.

He uses Medimon to help students visualize complex concepts where whimsical creatures represent cells, organs and diseases. Bland also transforms clinical case studies into immersive, movie-inspired stories, complete with AI-generated visuals and narration. Through his innovative approach, Bland shows that learning medicine can be fun, interactive and effective — helping future doctors tackle the immense amount of information they need to learn one creature, one story and one case at a time. 

POP Talks — Power of Possibility

University of Idaho research reaches far beyond our campuses — it shapes the world. POP Talks — Power of Possibility Talks — annually spotlights eight faculty whose discoveries address global challenges in health, sustainability, technology and society. These presentations reveal how innovative ideas born in Idaho ripple across continents, improving lives and inspiring change. The audience joins the presenters for an hour of bold thinking and transformative research that proves possibility knows no borders.