Maximizing Inclusion of Researchers with Visual Impairments

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The overarching goal of this 2-year conference grant “Maximizing Inclusion of Researchers with Visual Impairments” is to enhance the inclusion of researchers who are visually impaired, and supports the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mission to diversify the biomedical workforce. The focus of this initial conference is to create a mentorship network to support the careers of researchers who have low vision or are blind and to establish best practices for making scientific and medical conferences accessible for researchers with vision loss. For individuals this group, scientific conferences can be particularly challenging, as poster sessions and presentations with visual representations of data create a barrier for inclusion and participation, and networking opportunities are difficult to navigate. The proposed conference intends to address challenges for inclusion of researchers who are visually impaired by bringing together researchers and clinicians with vision loss, disability inclusion researchers, disability accommodation and low vision specialists, occupational therapists, and stakeholders from the NIH and professional societies, and simultaneously aims to build a national network of mentors to facilitate career development among this group. Aim 1 will establish the mentorship network through a series of meetings (3 virtual and 1 in-person event) to foster the careers of researchers with vision loss and to stimulate growth of a diverse and productive research workforce. By inviting basic, clinical, and translational scientists from different specialties and research disciplines, the meeting series will provide an opportunity to create collaborations and mentoring opportunities and engage stakeholder organizations, such as the NIH, foundations, and professional societies, to further support efforts to include individuals with vision loss in research. Aim 2 of this proposed conference is to develop best practice guidelines to maximize accessibility of scientific conferences for attendees who are visually impaired. By convening a group of researchers and clinicians with vision loss from diverse scientific and medical backgrounds, along with relevant experts and stakeholders, and using a modified Delphi technique, this group will develop guidelines that maximize accessibility of scientific conferences for researchers with vision loss. Aim 3 will identify additional barriers to the inclusion of persons who are visually impaired from participating in all aspects of the biomedical workforce. This aim supports a long-term goal of developing interventions that increase inclusion of these individuals in science and medicine and build a sustainable network of researchers with vision loss. Information on these barriers will be obtained from conference participants and used to support a subsequent R13 application to address these additional barriers. The “best practices” outlined at this conference have the potential to make conferences, both within and outside of science, more accessible for people with low vision or who are blind.