HIV is a disease not often talked about widely in society, but last Tuesday night at The STEAM Factory, it was all anyone could talk about. Students from the course, HIV: From Macro History to Microbiology co-taught by Dr. Thomas McDow (College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History) and Dr. Jesse Kwiek (College of Medicine, Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity) presented interesting and engaging Pecha Kucha presentations. A Pecha Kucha style presentation is a quick paced 20 slides that show for 20 seconds a piece. It requires presenters to be creative and fast on their feet.

In total, 9 presentations were presented throughout the night. 6 of these were by undergraduate students from McDow and Kwiek’s class. Representatives from The Ohio AIDS Coalition, Project INK, and Equitas Health also presented in the Pecha Kucha format. The presentations spanned a wide variety of issues regarding HIV. A few of the topics discussed were the history of HIV research, stigma associated with HIV, barriers those with HIV face, and a new medication called PrEP that can help prevent HIV. Not only were the presentations very informative and educational, but the fast-paced style kept the audience engaged throughout the duration of the evening. There were also several breaks which allowed the audience to interact with the presenters by asking any questions they had regarding HIV.

This event was one of the first STEAM-Powered Projects,a yearly grant proposal competition facilitated by the STEAM Factory. These grants are meant to stimulate interdisciplinary projects and collaborations among STEAM Factory members. Kwiek, a STEAM Factory Member, received a grant from the STEAM Factory to make the event possible.