The Trust’s Coordinator, Howard Davies, received the following report from Dr Suverina, following her visit to London in June 2023 during which she stayed at the Trust’s Highgate house.

First of all, Howard, I would like to thank you and the Trust for your support and for the opportunity to visit London and speak directly to many of my colleagues. During my short trip I had the opportunity to speak with Professor Dora Vargha (Univ. of Exeter; she specialises in medical humanities and was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship). Dr Vargha gave me valuable feedback on my research on the history of HIV/AIDS, and also kindly agreed to support my application for a Wellcome Trust Early Career Postdoc Grant. I had the opportunity to visit my colleagues in Oxford and had a fruitful discussion with them. They introduced me to Dr Ira Roldugina (who has just won the Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellowship) and we started working together on the book about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the language of stigma in late socialism. I also had a chance to visit my colleague Dr Sasha Kondakov from University College Dublin and attended a colloquium at the University of Konstanz.

It has been a very productive month for me: I met many like-minded colleagues who not only gave me feedback on my research, but also kindly advised me on postdoctoral fellowships and opportunities in order to continue my research. (Researching HIV/AIDS or related issues in Russia is simply impossible and even dangerous at the moment.)