Dr. Christen Mendonca, a current postdoctoral researcher at UAB within the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies (RecTech), has been selected as the first Rett Syndrome Postdoctoral Fellow. He will begin his appointment on August 1, 2025.

Melissa Do’s story begins not in a lab or a classroom, but across the Pacific a half century ago, rooted in the courage of her parents who fled war-torn Vietnam in search of a new life.

Welcome to the November installment of trending news and stories in the disability community. This edition features stories on U.S. government regulations, personal narratives on the disability experience and more.

Despite moving to Birmingham in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Eric Evans will be leaving Birmingham with expert knowledge on rehabilitation research, a wife, life-long friends and a new kidney.

Welcome to the October installment of trending news and stories in the disability community. This edition features stories on the disability community’s perspective on the presidential election, revolutionary wheelchairs and more.

Welcome back for the next installment of trending news and stories in the disability community. This edition features stories on accessibility in U.S. sports venues and Paralympic athletes.

CEDHARS Director Dr. Jim Rimmer, inaugural Lakeshore Foundation endowed chair in health promotion and rehabilitation science in the UAB School of Health Professions, was named the 2024 recipient of The Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award.

Welcome back for the next installment of trending news and stories in the disability community.

Alex Evancho had been considering a career in physical therapy as she finished up degrees in Spanish and psychology at the University of Georgia.

Welcome back for our second installment of trending news and stories in the disability community. This edition features articles on disability pride books, spotlights on disability creatives and news on accessibility advancements.

Dr. Yumi Kim, postdoc in the Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and SHP Research Collaborative, recently received a psychosocial research postdoctoral training fellowship grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to study participant engagement in spinal cord injury research.

As Dr. Scott Crawford enters his bedroom, adorned with photos of sailboats, nautical memorabilia and sailing decorations from wallpaper all the way down to the light switches, he is filled with a sense of peace and serenity.

Dr. Hui-Ju “Zoe” Young graduated from the Health Leadership Academy (HLA) on Wednesday after completing the 9-month program. As part of this program, Young was part of an interdisciplinary team and completed a group project focused on improving job quality for respiratory therapists at UAB.

We are excited to introduce our new series highlighting different stories and news items coming out of the disability community. We will share trending articles, podcasts, books, movies and any form of media that increases visibility of and perspective from the disability community.

The inaugural CEDHARS research symposium “Addressing Ableism in Research, Healthcare, and Higher Education” was held January 25-26, 2024, at the UAB Alumni House to bring together and promote leading voices in the movement toward inclusion science.

Our fellow Research Collaborative center, the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD), turned 25 on April 1. As we celebrate a quarter century of NCHPAD, we’re immensely proud of the nationwide impact the center has had promoting the health, wellness and inclusion of people with disabilities into all areas of life.

Movement to Music, M2M, dance instructors will be helping adapt a community event series being hosted this summer by Women Under Construction Network to make it inclusive and accessible for all.

The Alabama primary nomination for the 2024 election took place a few weeks ago. In the spirit of the election year, let’s discuss voting rights for Alabamians with disabilities.

James Tucker recently retired from director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, ADAP, which he headed for almost a decade. He worked for ADAP from 1997-2024, and prior to that, he was involved in disability rights litigation with other organizations.

Tucker’s retirement plans include spending time with family, traveling and hiking. He recently corresponded with CEDHARS to share his perspective on disability rights in Alabama and how they have evolved since he began working in the field.