By Niko Wiguna with Elizabeth Alene and Olivia Hankinson
On September 16, I (NW) curiously attended the MicroPop lecture and exhibit, a Health Humanities Grand Rounds event featuring German scholars Davina Höll and Michael Pelzer from the University of Tübingen, along with David Gebka from the State Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart that recounted how they came to develop MicroPop, a creative representation of the microbiome through interactive exhibits co-developed by teams of cross-disciplinary studends. Together, they challenged the audience (and, diligently, themselves the past few years) with the question of how we can bridge science and design to visualize the invisible.
As a first-year pre-business major, I would have never expected to become so fascinated with Dr. Kym Weed’s Introduction to Health Humanities class and attend a health humantiies event like this one, so I was unsure of what to expect. While I initially sat down for the presentation eager to see how they would represent the almost amusing flagella attached to most microbes, I walked away with a newfound appreciation for the benefits of cross-disciplinary collaboration between science and design.
As the bustle of the room simmered down, Dr. Höll started the lecture with an introduction to the world of microbes through the lens of its varying historical perceptions. Dr. Höll’s research explores societal perceptions of microorganisms, from microbes being depicted as “Monster Soup” in the 19th century, to microbes themselves being named as “perfect organisms” by famous scientist, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg. Her research became hauntingly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it also sparked the birth of MicroPop. She reminded us that society’s diverse imagination of microbial ecosystems centuries ago returned to contextualize current perceptions of the 2020 pandemic, raising questions of how knowledge about the microbiome reached society in the first place—and what roles the media plays in this process.
The MicroPop Exhibit explores this very question. As Dr. Höll gave the floor to Dr. Pelzer, we then delved into the timeline of this student-led project, which had its first public exhibition at Stuttgart in November of 2021. What allured me the most about MicroPop was how the team facilitated collaboration among a team of students who had never participated in a collaborative project between science and design. The space between these two realms is where communication is both most essential and the most challenging. As Dr. Pelzer noted, “Good science communication shouldn’t be about making knowledge simple but making the complexity accessible.” Translating the research team’s microbial exploration into the design team’s 3D rendering of exhibit pieces requires not a “dumbing down” of concepts (as he clarifies his phrasing), but rather an “open invitation” that does not compromise the depth and detail of the communication from the other team.
MicroPop Exhibition & Reception
Following the lecture portion of the event, the scholars and event attendees transitioned to the exhibition and reception. Set up with high top tables and microbial-themed refreshments, the welcoming space encouraged thoughtful conversations about the three exhibits on display. Projected onto the walls were abstract representations of biofilms—groups of microorganism populations organized in a thin membrane. Despite being on surfaces all around us, biofilms often go unnoticed. The goal of the exhibit was to create a visual to observe and analyze these biofilms. The creators succeeded at drawing people into their exhibit as the projections immediately caught our attention when we entered the space.
Set up near the projections were computer screens flipping through images of bacterial typography. In order to explore the boundaries of how shapes and letters are interpreted, the project team placed bacterial cultures on petri dishes in the shape of letters. Following incubation, some of the bacteria remained in the shape of the letters, while others did not. This demonstrated bacteria’s random growth and presented questions relating to artificially versus naturally produced systems.
The third and most interactive exhibit was the Meet and Greet exhibit. Placed for attendee participation were three distinct objects that, when moved around and oriented in various ways, made different types and volumes of sound. These 3-D models demonstrated the biochemical interactions that occur between microbes, provoking thoughts about the role of human intervention in microbe interactions versus the role of microbe self-regulation.
The MicroPop HHGR lecture and exhibition demonstrated a newfound way to study the sciences. By blending science and design, students and scholars of all backgrounds are able to interract with and learn about complex topics, such as the microbiome, and develop new strategies for public communication. This exhibition is just one example of how interdisciplinary studies, such as the health humanities, can open new avenues for exploration.
Niko Wiguna, a former lead science communications intern at the UNC School of Medicine, is
a first-year Kenan-Flagler assured admit pursuing a double major in Health Policy & Management
alongside his business studies. He is curious in exploring how to leverage marketing and brand
strategy to advance equitable and meaningful health policy. Committed to supporting and
engaging with Southeast Asian diasporas and queer communities, Niko seeks to intertwine
empathy, culture, and narrative communication with an ethical business lens through his work
with the HHIVE Lab, hoping to one day make health resources more accessible and approachable
for marginalized communities.
Olivia Hankison, a sophomore from Cary, NC, is a pre-occupational therapy student passionate about disability studies and eprsonal health narratives. She became invovled with health humanities through her Introduction to Health Humanities course with Dr. Weed, and quickly became interested in the HHIVE Lab. This semester, she is excited to be part of the Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Foundation Patient Narrative project and the Diet Culture project.
Elizabeth Alene is a sophomore Morehead Cain Scholar and Honors student from Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a keen interest in health policy, literature, and medical humanities. She is double majoring in Global Studies (concentration: Global Health and Environment) and Public Policy with a minor in Chinese Studies. She has previous extensive experience in the fields of behavioral neuroscience and public health research through working in labs and health institutes. At the HHIVE lab, Elizabeth is excited to use a multidimensional approach to examine health humanities and understand how personal narratives can inform medicine as a whole.