PIDA is a yearlong series of informed critical discussions about the global AIDS pandemic. PIDA endeavors through an interdisciplinary approach to expand our understanding of the problem by juxtaposing biomedical, behavioral and sociocultural aspects of AIDS and contextualizing the pandemic within a geographic framework. Through a holistic understanding of the numerous and complex factors that make certain communities vulnerable to HIV infection, we believe that more appropriate and effective strategies for prevention, care, and treatment will be developed. In addition to inserting the severity of the global pandemic into the public sphere for critical debate, PIDA hopes to also bridge the gap between the biomedical and social sciences here at Penn, and forge lasting links and network of communication for future collaboration and assistance. Finally, PIDA is an innovative student-organized program, which not only promotes the synthesis of community activism with more socially relevant and meaningful research, but also empowers students to take control over their own education.