Syphilis Topic of February Kaler Science Talk

Microbiology faculty Dr. Chelsea Lloyd will present "Syphilis: the Apple of My STI"

Syphilis will be the subject of the James B. Kaler Science Lecture at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in February.
 
On Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m., Parkland College Associate Professor Dr. Chelsea Lloyd will present "Syphilis: the Apple of My STI." Kaler Science Lecture tickets are $2 and are free for the Friends of the Staerkel Planetarium.
 
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the corkscrew-shaped bacterium, Treponema pallidum pallidum. Lloyd will discuss this organism and its complicated history; how it causes destructive disease by invading flesh and bone; how syphilis is prevented and treated using products from the Illinois state microbe; the challenges scientists face when studying this organism; and what mysteries have yet to be unraveled.

Lloyd teaches microbiology in the Department of Natural Sciences at Parkland College. She earned her bachelor's degree in microbiology from the University of Iowa and her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she investigated regulatory mechanisms of E. coli stress responses.

Kaler Science Lectures are filmed by Parkland College TV. After the talk, the planetarium will offer a program about the Artemis missions, Forward! To the Moon, at 8 p.m. and a light show set to the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon at 9 p.m. Admission to fulldome shows are $6 for adults or $5 for children, students, or seniors. Light shows are $6 for everyone. Please visit parkland.edu/planetarium for the show schedule or call 217/351-2568 for information about booking the dome.