Navigating STEMM with a disability
This special event focused on the unique challenges faced by scientists with disabilities—especially mothers—and explores actionable strategies for creating a more inclusive STEMM sector.
Persons with disabilities remain significantly underrepresented in the STEMM sector, facing systemic barriers such as inaccessible workplaces, biased hiring and promotion practices, and institutional policies that fail to accommodate diverse needs. Ableist attitudes and discrimination—both implicit and overt—further marginalise disabled scientists, limiting their access to funding, leadership opportunities, and professional recognition. Creating a truly inclusive STEMM environment requires dismantling these barriers and fostering a culture that values and supports disabled professionals at every stage of their careers.
Our panel brought together leading advocates for disability inclusion in STEMM, including researchers, educators, and a mother-scientist who will share her firsthand experience balancing parenthood and a career with a disability.
Dr. Lisa Meeks, a professor and global leader in disability inclusion, is the founder of Docs with Disability, a pioneering initiative advocating for accessibility in medical and scientific fields. Emma Collington is a PhD student in molecular genetics and co-founder of the STEM with Disabilities project, which amplifies the voices of disabled scientists and promotes inclusivity in STEMM. Dr. Kara Ayers, a psychologist and associate professor, researches the representation and systemic barriers faced by persons with disabilities and is co-founder of the Disabled Parenting Project.
This special event was FREE for all.
SpeakerS:
Lisa Meeks, PhD, is a Professor of Medical Education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a global leader in disability inclusion. As founder of the Docs with Disabilities Initiative, she has driven policy and practice advancements that reshape health professions education. Her research, published in journals like JAMA and Academic Medicine, focuses on equity and dismantling ableism in training. Dr. Meeks is deeply committed to creating inclusive environments where all trainees can thrive.
Website: Docs With Disabilities | Twitter: @meekslisa | LinkedIn: lisameeksphd
Emma Collington (she/her) is a PhD candidate in molecular genetics at the University of Waterloo. She studies mitochondrial metabolism in anaerobic eukaryotes. Emma has a connective tissue disease caused by mutations in her collagen and fibrillin genes, which results in her joints, organs, and blood vessels being too elastic. When not studying or sleeping, Emma is involved in her local disability community: she is a co-founder of the STEM with Disabilities Project and works for the program that trained her own service dog, Marlowe.
Website: STEM with Disabilities | Instagram: @servicedog_marlowe and @stemwithdisabilities | Twitter: @STEMwDisability | LinkedIn: emma-collington
Dr Kara Ayers is the Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD), a psychologist and an Assistant Professor whose research interests include parenting with a disability, disability culture in media, and health inequities experienced by people with disabilities. In addition to conducting research and teaching, Kara also analyzes policies to decide how they would impact people with disabilities and then works with policymakers to improve those policies. She is a mother of three children.
Website: Disabled Parenting | Twitter: @DrKaraAyers | LinkedIn: karaayers