SOAR Events

photo grid of speakers at event

Spring 2023 Symposium

Friday, April 14, 2023
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Palmer Commons, 4th Floor
100 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Read the symposium program (PDF)

The annual Dr. John Lamont Peterson Annual Research Symposium is the culminating event for participants in the Student Opportunities for AIDS/HIV Research (SOAR) program. The symposium features a keynote, and presentations by SOAR scholars who share findings from their behavioral and social science research related to HIV and/or sexual and gender minority populations.

The Dr. John Lamont Peterson Annual Research Symposium is sponsored by the Student Opportunities for AIDS/HIV (SOAR) program, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG), with support from the Department of Women’s & Gender Studies and the School of Public Health.

Symposium Schedule:

  • 9:00 am: Registration, check-in, & coffee
  • 9:30 am: Welcome Remarks by SOAR co-directors Gary Harper & Anna Kirkland 
  • 10:00 am: Lightning Talks on HIV Research & Policy by SOAR senior scholars: Eamonn McGonigle, Myla Lyons, Noelle Harris, Holly Gurnik, Jasmine Mumpfield
  • 11:00 am: Keynote
    • Dr. Jallicia Jolly, "HIV/AIDS in Ethnographic Perspective: Black Women, Bodily Autonomy, & Reproductive Justice"
  • 12:00 pm: Lunch (provided for registered attendees)
  • 12:45 - 1:45 pm: Poster Session on HIV-related research by SOAR junior scholars: Isabella Bonnewit, Ava Burzycki, Feaven Gebrezgi, Hadas Kluger, Maddy Ligon, Kaitlene Poblete, Anita Shubert
  • 2:00 pm: Lightning Talks on HIV Research & Policy by SOAR senior scholars: Adrian Beyer, Niah Boyd, Joshua Kennedy, Rakira Urquhart, Evan Hall
  • 3:00 pm: Mentor Recognition & Graduation Celebration 
  • 4:00 - 5:00 pm: Reception 

Keynote Speaker: Jallicia A. Jolly, PhD, Assistant Professor of American Studies and of Black Studies, Amherst College

"HIV/AIDS in Ethnographic Perspective: Black Women, Bodily Autonomy, & Reproductive Justice"

Watch Jallicia Jolly's keynote speech on YouTube.

Video Title Card:Keynote speech by Jallicia A. Jolly

Watch ALL videos from this year's symposium on YouTube. 

Including welcome remarks, student lightning talks, keynote, & graduation celebration.

About John Lamont Peterson:

Dr. John Lamont Peterson (1949-2021) was a leading figure in early HIV/AIDS research and a mentor to many Black behavioral and social scientists. He earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1974. After teaching at Claremont’s McKenna College and Graduate School in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and realizing the growing impact of the early AIDS epidemic on African American men, Dr. Peterson joined the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as a Research Scientist from 1986 to 1993. In 1994 he joined Georgia State University’s Department of Psychology, first as an associate professor, then as a full professor from 2003 until his retirement in 2015. Over the course of his career, he contributed to understanding the predictors of HIV/AIDS risk reduction, the effects of behavioral interventions to reduce this risk behavior, and the social determinants of racial disparities in HIV infection, primarily among Black men who have sex with men. Dr. Peterson’s mentorship to many laid the foundation for the ever-expanding field of HIV research and advocacy. This event is named in his honor.

Spring 2022 Symposium