Disability and citizenship

Senior researchers

Thomas Shakespeare

Professor of Disability Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. UK.

Trained in social and political sciences at Cambridge University, I subsequently studied for an MPhil and Phd. I have taught and researched at the Universities of Sunderland, Leeds, Newcastle and East Anglia. From 2008-2013, I was a technical officer at the World Health Organization, Geneva, where I co-authored and co-edited the World Report on Disability (2011) and International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury (2014). My books include: the Sexual Politics of Disability (1996); Disability Rights and Wrongs (2006; 2014); Disability – the Basics (2017). I was a member of Arts Council, England (2003-2008) and Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2013-2019). I am currently chair of Light for the World – UK, and vice-chair of Light for the World International.

I have always been engaged with communications, including science communications, and have been a regular contributor to BBC Radio for a dozen years. I also write regularly for The Lancet.

Area of expertise: Disability Studies

Research lines
– Inclusive and participatory disability research: ethical and methodological challenges