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The fourth annual Ohio State Anatomy Fashion Show will be put on by Phi Delta Epsilon Sunday. Credit: Courtesy of Maria Burdjalov

Medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon’s fourth annual Anatomy Fashion Show is back in person for an afternoon of anatomy, fashion and philanthropy.

The show will hit the stage in the Great Hall Meeting Room in the Ohio Union Sunday at 3 p.m., according to the event page. This year’s event will include a runway fashion show featuring the anatomical systems, as well as fundraising opportunities to benefit the nonprofit organization Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, such as a raffle and silent auction, Daniel Levine, a third-year in biochemistry and Anatomy Fashion Show donations chair, said.

The fashion show will demonstrate the body’s 12 anatomical systems on sleeved bodysuits painted by members of the fraternity and students from the art department, Maria Burdjalov, a third-year in medical anthropology and Anatomy Fashion Show coordinator, said. As the models walk down the runway, the hosts will explain the various body systems and their basic functions, Levine said. 

“It’s kind of an opportunity to combine the arts and sciences and allow student painters and models to create the anatomical systems onto their bodies and then hit the runway,” Levine said.

This year, the fraternity hopes to raise $20,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to benefit Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dheeraj Peddinti, a third-year in health sciences and vice president of finance for Phi Delta Epsilon, said. The nonprofit organization raises money for pediatric hospitals across the country, and Peddinti said the fraternity will be fundraising through donations and events at the show Sunday.

“CMN partners with a hospital, and our local hospital is Nationwide,” Burdjalov said. “All of our fundraising efforts, that entire pool of money, goes directly to Nationwide for treatment, for research, for equipment, medical care, all for pediatric patients.”

Members of the fraternity are also required to each raise at least $62, which Burdjalov said is a meaningful number related to their philanthropy.

“Sixty-two children enter a Children’s Miracle Network hospital for treatment, like, every minute, so that’s a child a second,” she said. “So that’s the number that is the minimum fundraising goal for all of our members.” 

After presenting the Anatomy Fashion Show in a virtual format last year, Burdjalov said the members of Phi Delta Epsilon are excited to bring the show back in person.

“I think that you really miss a certain energy of, you know, preparing for a show. There’s crazy energy throughout the day,” she said. “I think that although people might have nerves or anxieties and, you know, this might go wrong or that might go wrong, everyone’s energies just build off of each other, and you get that sense of community much more than you would virtually.”

During this year’s show, audience members will be able to participate in a raffle for items such as gift baskets, and a silent auction for larger items such as amusement park tickets, Peddinti said. Burdjalov said the show will also feature performances by the Inaayat Dance Team — an Indian classical dance group — and 8th Floor Improv Comedy Group. 

The fraternity will also incorporate some new ideas into the show, Burdjalov said.

“This year, we’re actually going to have two models — two wonderful models — get painted live during the show by audience members for a donation of $2,” she said. “It engages the audience, and at the same time, it raises money for the fundraiser in a different way.”

With the Anatomy Fashion Show just around the corner, Burdjalov said she is excited for the Ohio State community to come together and see it in person once again.

“Just seeing the way that this show makes people work for a common goal and be creative while doing it in also, like, a health context, it’s really quite unique,” she said. ”It’s always been so special to just see our members work together and accomplish something like the Anatomy Fashion Show.”

Tickets for the fashion show are $5 and can be purchased online on Eventbrite or on the fraternity’s Instagram. Phi Delta Epsilon encourages everyone to attend the Anatomy Fashion Show and hopes to see many students in attendance, Peddinti said.

“We don’t want it just to be a fraternity event. We want it to be a Ohio State community event,” Peddinti said. “We’d love to see everyone.”