Big Ideas for Busy People is back with a twist! Infectious disease experts set the stage for this interactive exploration of the future of viruses, bacteria, antibiotics and vaccines.

This popular, fast-paced event features five-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.

Speakers include:

• Laurel Legenza, School of Pharmacy, Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Antibiotic Resistance: An Interactive Surveillance Tool
• Patrick Anderson, author of Autobiography of a Disease, on the experience of life-threatening illness
• Paul Ahlquist, virologist, Morgridge Institute for Research, on broad spectrum antivirals as a response to unlimited emerging viruses
• James Conway, pediatrician, UW Health, Making Every Shot Count: Why Vaccines Matter!
• Jo Handelsman, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, on the search for new antibiotics

Join us at the Discovery Building for an evening full of surprises and fun!