Episode 8: Experiences of Individuals With Disabilities in STEM and Academia w/Dr. Naheda Sahtout & Dr. Nicole Brown

Best of the WWEST

In this episode, Dr. Naheda Sahtout and Dr. Nicole Brown sit with us to discuss the experiences of individuals with disabilities in STEM and academia, and how we can make STEM more accessible for disabled individuals in the workplace, lab, and classroom!

Dr. Naheda Sahtout (Ph.D) is an award-winning academic, researcher, scientist, and leader. Naheda completed her B.Sc. (Honours) in Biology from the University of Waterloo, M.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Guelph, and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently a Science Analyst in the Office of the Chief Science Operating Officer with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Naheda developed a strong interest in STEM outreach and finding innovative and creative ways of bringing STEM to rural and Indigenous communities during her graduate programs. She also found her passion in enhancing graduate education, and as a student leader worked hard to strengthening the student-supervisory relationship, finding more resources for graduate students, increasing the networking opportunities for graduate students with non-academic partners, and working on initiatives that prepare graduate students for non-academic careers. Aside from all her efforts on campus, she also finds time to volunteer in the community and spent much of her time in Saskatoon helping refugees and newcomers with the Saskatoon Open Door Society. Currently, she is the Managing director of the Muslim Achieving Excellence Scholarships Fund program, a national program dedicated to supporting excellence in youth. Having herself tackled an academic journey with a visual impairment; she is passionate about advocating for inclusivity, diversity, equality and accessibility in science. She is committed to redefining the landscape and finding ways to support women and girls succeed. She continues to dedicate her time to these matters, whether it is in the workplace or at a global level. Her unique background and first-hand experience navigating academia, combined with her fierce and enthusiastic nature, have given her the tools to be an excellent advocate for the matters that are close to her heart.

Dr. Nicole Brown is a writer, social researcher, and associate professor working on the cusp of research/practice/teaching. She is Director of Social Research & Practice and Education Ltd and Associate Professor at University College London. Nicole’s creative and research work relate to physical and material representations of experiences, the generation of knowledge, the use of metaphors, and more generally, research methods and approaches to explore identity and body work. Her books include Lived Experiences of Ableism in Academia: Strategies for Inclusion in Higher Education, Ableism in Academia: Theorising Experiences of Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses in Higher Education, Embodied Inquiry: Research Methods, and Making the Most of Your Research Journal. Her next books are Creativity in Education: International Perspectives and Photovoice, Reimagined. Nicole's creative nonfiction has been published in the Journal of Participatory Research Methods, So Fi Zine and The AutoEthnographer. Nicole shares her work at https://www.nicole-brown.co.uk and she tweets as @ncjbrown and @AbleismAcademia

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