Students hear from top HIV doctor at research symposium

Stephanie Schiraldi and Janel Shoun-Smith | 

Dr. Jean Anderson serves as keynote speaker for university-wide symposium

The fourth annual Students Scholars Symposium the largest ever

At the fourth annual Student Scholars Symposium Thursday, April 9, Lipscomb undergraduate students were able to hear from one of the world’s top doctors in the field of treating the HIV virus in women.

Dr. Jean Anderson, a Lipscomb alumna and doctor with Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions since 1987, made a presentation about “The Lazarus Disease: A Career in HIV.” She received her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“I think it was important for our students and community to see the excellence in education that Lipscomb has exhibited over many years,” said Norma B. Burgess, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “The tradition continues with the presentations and participation of our students at the symposium.”

During her keynote address, Anderson discussed the history of HIV over the years, noting that she didn’t even hear of HIV while she was in medical school.

“It wasn’t until I moved to Johns Hopkins that I saw my first patients with HIV,” said Anderson. “I remember seeing the first report [on HIV] in 1981 in one of the major medical journals.”

Ten years later, she began developing the Johns Hopkins HIV Women’s Health Program. Since 1991, Anderson has treated over 2,000 women with HIV.

“We can’t treat ourselves out of this disease,” said Anderson. “We have to prevent it.”  

Anderson has made great strides in the treatment and prevention of HIV since she started. One thing she worked on is the prevention of transmission from mothers to their babies, and her program has not seen an infected baby in more than five years.

“Clearly a pioneer, Dr. Anderson’s path-breaking work is a great example for us to follow and exemplifies the importance of preparation for future areas of study yet to be defined since no one knew what HIV and AIDs was as a disease when she began her work,” said Burgess.

Anderson has achieved the professional success that many of the symposium participants may hope to achieve some day. Based on the presentations and topics, they have a good start.

More than 70 graduate and undergraduate students made presentations this year, and the event included a display of 41 posters of student and student/faculty research emanating from throughout Lipscomb’s colleges.

Presentation topics ranged from the humanities to theology to the hard sciences. Among the subjects discussed at the symposium were:

  • "Food Loss and Waste by Global Region: Analysis and Proposed Reduction Strategies"
  • "Survey of Student Reactions to Mayoral Candidates’ Statements"
  • "A Divided Body: Church Elitism in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34"
  • "Immunoproteasome Activation Mediated via JAK2 Signaling Pathway in the Presence of IFN-γ"
  • "Where Have I Come From, and Where am I Going?: Conceptions of Ghanaian Children Formerly in Forced Labor"
  • "Inhibition of Topoisomerase2 with HU-331 Results in Axonal Pathfinding Defects in Danio rerio"
  • "Intuitive Eating in Male and Female Athletes"
  • "Frankenstein as a Response to Wollstonecraft’s Feminist Theory"
  • "Literacy and The Giver: How Young Adult Literature can Attract and Teach Emerging Readers"

Awards for the best paper presentations and posters were presented in a special ceremony later that evening. The 2015 winners were:

  • Oral Presentations: Kadilee Adams, Kristen Nicole Anderson, Kay Ellen Clayton, Sara-Jane Elizabeth Kerstetter, Christiana Elizabeth Muir, Shelby M’lynn Smith, Lauren Nicole Temple, Amber Leigh Thompson, Geneva Grace Waynick
  • Poster Presentations: Alexxa Frances Bessey, Beshoy Adel Fahmy, William Sherrill Hedges, Josiah Daniel Lockard, Mark M. Naguib, Alexandra Jon Patterson, Spencer Michael Richardson, Renae Nicole Tjelta
  • Performances: Douglas Craig Daugherty, Mary Grace Kimbrough
  • Graduate Presentations: David Steven Bourgeois, Kristin Alexandria Keith, Robert Wayne Masone, William Worth Penner, Olivia A. Travis