Drs. James and Veronica Elias Student Research Awards
Congratulations to Iris Olson and Kiana Cummings!
Your donation provides current and recently graduated students with an opportunity to present, travel, and support their research in human sexuality. This award is named after the original contributors, Drs. James and Veronica Elias, each incredible sexuality educators and researchers in their own right.
Each Positive Sexuality Conference we award as many students as funding will allow based on a blind review of their original research presented during the conference. Awards are provided the last day of the conference. A panel of judges made up of sexuality scholars reviews each presentation, scores them, and provides rankings which are then tabulated to confirm which projects are the best. We do our best to award as many students as possible.
Thank you anonymous 2026 supporters!
Providing $550 in Student Research Awards Funds
Former Recipients
Please see our previous recipients below. To date, we have awarded $3750 to student research award winners, all from donations.
SPC 2024
Tom Carpino: “Pup Play and Sexual Health”
SPC 2022
Alicia Charles D’Avalon & Sam Hughes: “Race in the Erotic Hypnosis Community”
Lorraine Lacroix-Williamson: “Pleasure as Prevention: A Qualitative Study to Reduce HIV Risk among Black Women in the US”
Mina Beveney: “Kinky People of Color, Experiences of Discrimination, and the BDSM Community”
Daniel Copulsky: “Pandemic Polyamory: The Impact of COVID on Non-Monogamous Relationships”
Lauren Feder, Sofia Vanderlaan, & Arya Gandhari: “Asexuality, Autism, and Neurodiversity”
SPC 2020
Jules Vivid and Eliot M. Lev: “Kink and Sex through the Lens of Queer Theory: Findings from the Kink Identity and Sexuality Study”
Dani Murillo: “Arts-based Research: Using Photovoice to Move Beyond HIV Stigma in Queer Men of Color”
Victoria Loy: “Navigating Intersecting Identities, Self-Representation and Relationships: A Qualitative Study with Trans Sex Workers Living and Working in Los Angeles, CA”