Big Ideas for Busy People: Contagion

This popular, fast-paced event features 5 minute talks from some of UW-Madison’s biggest brains. This year’s episode turns a microscope on microbes—specifically, infectious diseases. What do we have to fear, what can we expect and what can we do to keep the tiny bugs at bay? Come prepared for a highly interactive event and stay after the talks to learn more, get your hands wet and see for yourself the creatures that are on, in and around us. Featured presenters include: 

• Patrick Anderson, author, Autobiography of a Disease on the experience of life-threatening illness
• Paul Ahlquist, virologist, Morgridge Institute for Research, on the how to fight many viruses with one punch
• James Conway, pediatrician, UW Health, on the power of vaccination
• Jo Handelsman, director, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, on the search for new antibiotics
• Laurel Legenza, pharmacy, UW-Madison, on forecasting antibiotic resistance

Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Science Festival.