Biology, Healthcare, and Disability 101

On a light gray background, big, bold, purple letters read, "Biology, Healthcare, & Disability 101". On the left are two banners, in a dark purple banner is the event time, 5:00 - 6:00 PM, and below, in a light purple banner is the event date, 3/04/2021. On the right, in light purple font, says "Disability Allyship Workshop for Pre-Med Students" and the event description: Please join the Student Disability Commission and Biology Students for Equity for a disability allyship workshop specifically focused on disability in the Healthcare field and for Biology majors. We encourage all to attend and learn more on how to make your life accessible". Below reads, CART and ASL Interpretation provided. — 1 in 5 people have disabilities in the United States, and this number is expected to increase with the aging population. However, there is often little discussion regarding the intersection between biology, disability, and healthcare. We invite you to attend Biology, Healthcare, & Disability 101 on Thursday, March 4th from 5-6pm with the ASUW Student Disability Commission and Biology Students for Equity to gain an introduction to these topics. This event is especially catered to people who have little to no background in Disability Studies as well as pre-health students. CART captioning & ASL interpreters will be provided.

Event Recording:

Note- this event was interrupted by technical issues. The first recording is the first half of the event, which was conducted live in front of Zoom audience. The second recording was done afterwards, with only the panelists and interpreters.

If you attended the live event and were kicked out halfway through, we sincerely apologize! We are working to ensure that this issue does not happen again with any of our events.

Additional Resources:

Resource document with readings, videos, and links to more information about the ADA, Eugenics, Genetics, and Biotechnology, Disability and Healthcare, and more linked here!

Slides from presentation linked here!

Speaker Information:

Ishira Parikh (she/her)

A girl with black hair and brown eyes is dressed in black and white and smiling.

Hello! My name is Ishira, and I’m a senior majoring in Disability Studies and Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology. As an aspiring physician, I’m extremely passionate about incorporating the social model of disability and advocating for people with disabilities in healthcare. Outside of SDC, I promote inclusive education by creating accessible curriculum with Synbio for Everyone, volunteer for a neurodevelopmental pediatrician at Seattle Children’s, and serve as Co-president of Healthcare Alternative Spring Break (HCASB). I enjoy taking long walks, editing photos, and drinking way too many lattes. I’m super excited to work on disability advocacy in the UW community!

Jenn Arnold (she/her)

A girl with long brown hair and bangs wearing a blue jacket and black tank top smiling.

Hey there! My name is Jenn and I am a senior majoring in Biology and minoring in Disability Studies. I am passionate about the intersection of social justice and healthcare, and hope to incorporate my Disability Studies background into the career I decide to pursue in the future. I am president of Biology Students for Equity, an RSO that promotes equity and inclusion in the biology department, and I also sit on the biology department’s Diversity and Equity Committee. Outside of school I work as a kickboxing trainer at an all women’s gym and enjoy taking day trips to the coast. I absolutely love talking with others about Disability Studies and am grateful for the opportunity to share the importance of this field as it relates to healthcare.

Collaborator Information:

Biology Students for Equity

White rectangle with black icons throughout. The icons include a molecule, a virus, a plant, a microscope, a hand holding a stem, chromosomes, an ee with a magnifying glass, bacteria, a water molecule, DNA, a brain, and beakers. These icons are surrounding three black hands in the middle of the rectangle. The words Biology Students For Equity are in black text at the bottom of the rectangle with a black hummingbird icon at the end of the text.

BSE was founded in the Spring of 2017 by a group of highly motivated undergraduates who wanted to address issues in the Biology Department and promote awareness of equity issues.

Our goals are to:

Continue conversations on inequities in biology/STEM
Create welcoming space for all in which grievances can be aired, voices be heard
Develop an organized voice for undergrads on D/E related issues
Help enact change at an undergrad level

Visit their website here.