Nicholas Flores who goes by "Nic", graduated with a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies from OSU in 2019. Nic’s dissertation titled, “PrEParing and Producing the Queer Medical Subject: An Ethnographic Account of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, and Class in Columbus, Ohio in the Time of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP),” explored the relationship between a newly introduced biomedical HIV prevention medication known as “PrEP” and its effects on minoritized communities in central Ohio. His two-year ethnography focused on the social and cultural effects of PrEP among Black and Brown communities and how locally-based community healthcare efforts attempted to mitigate HIV transmission rates. Upon graduation from OSU, Nic spent a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Latina/o/x Studies at Kenyon College. In the fall of 2020, Nic began as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition to several journal article preparations, Nic is currently working on a book manuscript provisionally titled, Becoming HIV-Negative, based on his dissertation research. The manuscript is under contract with the University of Minnesota Press. Nic received the Humanities Release Time Award and the Funding Initiative for Multiracial Democracy Manuscript Award for the fall 2022 semester to support his research and writing. For the 2022-2024 academic years, Nic was named a Lincoln Excellence for Assistant Professors (LEAP) Scholar by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The award comes with financial support for his work. Additionally, he co-hosts the podcast Learning on the Job as well as the annual Writing in Depth: An Academic Writing Retreat at Hope Springs Institute in Ohio.
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